Beeuty & the Beast 2: Heritage
by mongrelssister
Summary: Maito Gai and Hani Hachi have returned home after their first mission together.  If meeting the rambunctious Team Gai wasn't enough, Hani will have to deal with a ghost from her past.  One that wishes to destroy her and all of Konoha  tentative summary .
1. Introduction

**Introduction**

* * *

><p>Iho adjusted her belt as she walked down the long corridor with its limestone floors and whitewashed walls. The cleats on the bottom of her ANBU boots clicked loudly across the hard surface and left an array of small chips in her wake. She must have walked this patrol thousands of times – another part of her job that had become a monotonous task.<p>

15 years ago she was assigned to this small, secluded island off the coast of what remained of the once great Whirlpool Country. It was Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi himself who assigned her to be one of the many guards of the island's sole prisoner. And after the first five years, she was promoted to warden; the only announcement of which was a simple scroll delivered to the island via courier hawk.

The three ANBU women who worked under her as additional jailers had become trusted and close allies. Over the years, they had bonded together in a close-knit sisterhood. For Iho, she had come to care for these women more than those of her own blood-kin and she would spill a river of it if anyone dare harm them.

She walked to the end of the hallway and stopped before a large metal door that showed signs of early decay from the harsh oceanic air. Plastered over its front was a two by two foot paper seal with the sign of "lightning" printed across it. Deftly, Iho reached up and took a firm grip on the small handle of the door's slatted window and yanked it open harshly. She leaned forward and peered in to check on the status of the room's inhabitant. In the back of her head, Iho hoped this would be the time she would find her prisoner had finally succumbed to mortality.

Within the room, sitting before a small wooden table kneeled a lithe, feminine form. With her back to the door, the woman's arm was outstretched delicately as she dabbed her simple bamboo brush into the ink-coated slate before bringing it to a piece of parchment and meticulously painting a single kanji. She wore a bleach-white muslin shirt and pants. Her feet were bare, dirty and callused from being forced to walk her prison cell barefooted for years. The most noteworthy quality of her appearance and the only thing Iho could see clearly was her absurdly long, obsidian-black hair. It draped across her shoulders, down her back and covered over the vast majority of her small room like a darkened spider's web. When the prisoner was brought to the island, her hair had already been extremely long. But after 15 years of exile, the woman's hair had grown to unimaginable lengths.

Iho clenched her fist as her mind wandered to a fantasy she and most of the women in her charge shared. It would be a simple task to enter the room and finish off what nature was too slow to take care of itself - end the life of the convict and free the true prisoners from their duty as jailers on this godforsaken island. No one would be the wiser, and Iho was quite certain the other ANBU women would agree to any excuse she would come up with as an explanation. The only thing that stilled her hand was her overwhelming sense of duty to her Hokage and her village.

"Plotting my murder, Iho?" asked the prisoner in an even tone.

Not surprised by the woman's perception, the ANBU scowled, "Am I that obvious?"

"I can sense your true intentions through the door."

Iho shifted her weight, "You don't seem too worried."

The woman placed her brush on the table before taking her ink stick and swirling it methodically across its base, "If you truly had the resolve to kill me, then you would have stopped giving me food years ago."

"I wouldn't be so cowardly."

"Sneaking into my room and slitting my throat while I am defenseless is not considered cowardly?"

Iho narrowed her eyes. "That is hardly a topic you have any right to speak of."

The prisoner's only reaction to the Warden's words was the shifting of her eyes. "What you call cowardice, I call self-preservation."

"Disobeying the Hokage's direct orders; attempting to sell your daughter's virginity and outright attacking your own people – that is hardly self-preservation. That is self-destruction."

The raven-haired woman laid her calligraphy tools on the table and solemnly placed both of her hands in her lap. "Iho, have you ever seen an uncut diamond?"

Not knowing where her prisoner was going with their conversation, she entertained the woman with a simple and safe answer, "No."

"A raw and uncut diamond is an ugly thing. It is rough and shows very little sign of its inner beauty. Even the barely-precious quartz is more beautiful in its natural state." She took a silent moment to stand gracefully; her hair sliding against the stone floor making the only sound. "However, when you take a raw diamond and cut away at its imperfections … its weaknesses, that is when it truly becomes beautiful and precious." She turned her head towards the doorway and gave Iho a violet-eyed stare. "The decisions I have made in my life have been that of a well disciplined gem cutter."

Iho looked around the dark cell, "A diamond doesn't sparkle without light, Hidama. You're a prisoner here – this isn't much of a life you've made for yourself - a member of the infamous Hachi Clan."

"Ah," said Hidama with a slight tilt of her head. "That is where you are wrong."

The Warden's eyes narrowed even more, "This I've got to hear."

"We have something in common, you and me. We are both captives on this island and neither of us are here by choice."

"That isn't true," snorted Iho. "I was asked to be stationed here. Not forced."

Hidama grinned knowingly, "Were you? Tell me, what would have happened if you refused Sarutobi's request?"

Iho was taken aback at the question. Refuse a request by the Hokage? Impossible.

The prisoner's smile widened, "You cannot answer, can you?" She crossed her arms gracefully, "You were never given a choice, Iho, because you were expected to give only one answer. Ninja are nothing if not obedient and when they are not, then they are banished or slain for insubordination. We are only allowed to live if we play by the rules and fight for the village we are born into. No longer being bound by my _duty_ as a ninja of Konoha is what makes me more of a free woman than you. I would much rather be a prisoner, than a slave."

The Warden felt a vein on her forehead begin to bulge, "Ninjas are not slaves! Earning and wearing our hitai-ate and swearing allegiance to our village is an act of honor!"

"Should a slave feel pride for his life when he is forced to live in servitude?"

The Warden pointed an angry finger at her prisoner through the iron slats in the door's window, "You chose that life too!"

Hidama's expression grew dark, "That is not true." She returned Iho's stare. "Your family doesn't have a kekkei genkai, so I cannot expect for you to fully understand. I am sure if you had a bloodline legacy, then your ancestors would have decided your fate much like mine did for me."

"I'll be sure to cry a river for you later," said Iho with a sneer.

Hidama chuckled, "And I am certain you will try to drown me in it shortly thereafter."

There was a moment of tense silence as they stared at each other unwaveringly. It wasn't until Hidama had grown bored that she finally turned away and reassumed her place at her table. "By the way," she said with an impish grin. "It sounds like you and Moanna are getting along quite swimmingly."

Iho's body tensed.

"Do not worry," said Hidama with a bit of sarcasm. "She has not spoken to me in some time." She took her ink stick and returned to the task of replenishing her supply. "But I can still hear her voice at night when you two share company. The acoustics in this tower carry sound amazingly well."

The Warden immediately shifted into defensive mode, "Leave Moanna alone, bitch! If you do or say anything to her then I will cut your throat out with the dullest knife I can find!"

Hidama tilted her head. "Place your hand on the door's seal, Iho. Place your hand on it and finish it here and now. Use your lightning to kill me and free yourself from this place," she taunted.

Iho's hand was already on the door, her fingers pressed firmly against the paper seal. It would only take an instant before it was all over – imbue the seal with her chakra and Hidama's room would explode with electric energy, destroying the Hachi woman and everything inside it. But as soon as her bloodlust was about to peak, Iho's remembrance of her oath and years of devoted servitude stilled her actions. She was the jailer. Not the executioner and she wouldn't let Hidama sully her devotion by turning her against everything she believed in. "The last thing I want to do is what you want me to, Hidama. While you are in this room, you are of no threat to me or anyone else in the world."

The prisoner smirked. "I have no desire to come between you and your lover, Iho. Or to harm her. However …" she turned her head so she could give Iho a sultry glance. "I do like to think that I live vicariously through her."

Iho recoiled at what the woman was implying and immediately slammed the window shut as if to cut off any spell the seductress was attempting to cast on her.

"Come by more often, Madam Warden. I do enjoy our talks," chuckled Hidama from the other side of the door.

Iho clenched her fists. "Hurry up and _die_, Hidama!" she shouted before turning away curtly and storming back down the hall from which she came.

It wasn't until the sound of Iho's footfalls had faded when the prisoner finally spoke again. "My name is _Kisaki_," she snarled.

- / -

Iho closed her eyes and pressed her face into the woman's bare shoulder that lay next to her. "Don't let that monster get to you," said the woman softly.

The Warden sighed as she looked up into her partner's eyes, "I know Moanna, but it's hard not to. I've been here for so long and after all these years, I still haven't learned how to disregard her taunts."

Moanna rolled onto her side and looked back at her partner through her thick, red curls. "Hidama is no more than an animal in a cage. She's done terrible things and if she didn't have those damnable pheromones, she'd still be in Konoha's prison. Besides," she smiled as she ran her fingers through Iho's short, wavy, light-brown hair. "The only woman I want you losing sleep over is me."

Iho grinned back as Moanna affectionately.

"You only have six months until Shihono replaces you as warden, after which you get to return home to Konoha for good."

"It will be bittersweet without you," pouted the older woman.

Moanna chuckled, "Just wait another year, Iho. And then we can be together again." She gave her love a mischievous look, "Just try not to get wooed by some man while we're apart."

"You don't have to worry about that," laughed Iho who had never in her life had the desire to be wrapped in a man's arms. "I'll wait faithfully for you." She leaned forward and lightly kissed Moanna's freckled cheek.

"No you won't," taunted the redhead. "You'll meet some pretty jounin and fall head-over-heels for her."

"I already did," grinned Iho.

The blush in Moanna's cheeks glowed brightly next to her blazingly-red hair. "Ever the sweet talker."

Iho watched the young woman's blue eyes and marveled at how they looked like two deep pools. "I could drown in those eyes of yours," she smiled.

Moanna moaned melodramatically, "You're already in my bed, Iho. You don't have to flatter me now."

The Warden chuckled at her silliness before falling eerily quiet. "I don't want you near Hidama's cell anymore."

Moanna gave her an uneasy look, "Why?"

"I don't trust her."

"No offense, Iho, but who does? Don't worry so much. Her room is sealed and warded against chakra use. There isn't anything she can do from behind that door."

"I know, I know," sighed the older woman. "But I don't feel comfortable with you being exposed to her. She's extremely manipulative. _And_ I think she's taken a liking to you – which concerns me more than anything."

Moanna propped herself up on her elbows and gave her partner an angry look, "I would never have been assigned here if I was a simple push-over."

"I know that."

"Then why don't you trust me?"

"I don't trust _her_!" snapped the Warden. She immediately winced and rubbed at her brow. "I'm sorry, Moanna. I know you are strong. But please … _please_ … stay away from her. Have one of the others take your shifts with her and take only patrols. I would really feel more comfortable if you do what I ask. Please."

The redhead furrowed her brows in concern. "If that's what you want."

Iho relaxed visibly, "Thank you." She fell back heavily onto their bed and let her eyes drift to the ceiling. She took the hand that rubbed at her stomach reassuringly. "I'll be fine."

"I'm still worried about you."

"And I worry about you." She took a long breath, "Just six more months."

Moanna opened her mouth to speak when the sudden sounds of the island's emergency bell reverberated throughout the entire building.

"That's Shihono!" said Iho as she jumped out of bed and grabbed her gear.

"The supply boat? Or another shipwreck?" wondered Moanna as she got dressed in haste.

"We're not expecting supplies for another week and there shouldn't be a shipwreck when the weather is calm like it is tonight."

They were both dressed in record time and sprinted down the hallway towards the guard station where their comrade awaited them.

"Shihono!" shouted Iho. "What's the alarm?"

The tall, tanned-skin woman turned and pointed towards the northeastern coast; her long ponytail whipping through the air as she moved. "Look!" she pointed. "I count 15 sailboats, 200 yards from the coast!" She brought a pair of binoculars to her eyes and observed the ships' inhabitants, "A fair amount of them appear to be armed."

Iho narrowed her eyes as she strained to see the figures in the night's darkness.

"Are we under attack?" asked Moanna apprehensively.

"They're certainly not fisherman," huffed Shihono. "Bastards waited for a moonless night."

Moanna looked flabbergasted, "Who on earth would attack us with such a large force?"

"Someone who doesn't fear a war with Konoha," sneered Iho.

"Could it be a mercenary band?" asked Shihono as she looked at her commander from over her shoulder.

"Not with 15 ships – this must be a part of someone's military." The Warden tensed her jaw, "Where's Hane?"

"On coastal patrol," answered the tall kunoichi.

Iho pointed to an area under a copse of trees near the coast, "Signal her to meet you there. If their intentions are aggressive – which I suspect they are, then use your earth spike technique to eliminate as many of those ships as possible and have Hane guard you from ranged attacks with her vacuum abilities."

"Hai," nodded Shihono before she disappeared in a swirl of dust.

"Moanna, let's take our stations and if any of them make it through Shihono and Hane, then it's up to us to stop them."

"Hai!" nodded the young woman.

- / -

Hidama was still awake when the alarm bell sounded. Though she didn't have any windows in her cell or any way of knowing what went on outside the four walls of her room, she did have a clear sense of the energy in the air. She grinned devilishly as she hurried out of her bed and moved to her calligraphy table with its numerous stacks of kanji printed paper.

- / -

It didn't take long to realize the true intentions of the island's new arrivals as an array of arrows soared through the air towards Shihono and Hane's position.

"I've got it," said Hane from behind her hawk-themed ANBU mask. She armed herself with a white feathered hand fan and slashed at the air. On command, a powerful gust of wind blasted the weapons away where they fell harmlessly into the ocean.

Shihono was already on her knees channeling chakra into the earth. Her bared teeth resembled those of her snarling bear mask as she created a series of giant earth spikes from deep under the water and pierced them through the bottom of one of the boats. Dark figures fell from their disabled vehicle and splashed through the water's surface; filling the night air with cries of distress. "Hane!" grunted Shihono.

"Already on it!" said the white haired woman. She holstered her fan before forming a series of hand signs. Soon after, a tumultuous whirlpool swirled to life and after a few seconds it swallowed the unfortunate intruders and doomed them to a watery death.

"Nice," applauded Shihono as she watched their enemy's number slowly dwindle. She brought a finger up to her neck and pushed the button to her microphone. "Iho, we've taken out one of their boats – they don't appear to be ninja."

"Good," said Iho over the headset. "How many are there?"

The female ANBU attempted to make a quick count of their numbers, "I'm not sure -"

"Watch it!" shouted Hane as she grabbed Shihono's collar and yanked her a few dozen yards from where they stood to avoid a flaming projectile that soared downwards from the sky. Iho and Moanna flinched as the echo of a loud crash reverberated throughout the island.

"Shit!" winced Shihono after the ruckus settled. She rolled onto her side and placed a protective hand over the new wound on her arm.

Close by, where they once stood, now blazed a chemical fire that burned violently. Hane held her arm up instinctively to protect herself from the toxic gas that quickly filled the area. She looked over the waters to the boats and spotted that a few of the vessels were armed with large catapults. She looked down at her friend and saw the new injury that seemed to melt the woman's flesh away.

Knowing that using her wind technique would only make the fire worse, Hane grabbed Shihono's uninjured arm and pulled her roughly towards the tower. "Iho, they're using catapults to fire chemical bombs on the island!" she shouted over the walkie-talkie. In response, the small forest behind them ignited.

"Bombs?" gasped Moanna as she quickly released a small falcon into the air. She watched anxiously as the winged figure floated off into the distance, its small backpack securely fastened around its body.

Hane looked at her partner's pale face, "Shihonos been hit with the chemicals too."

"Bring her to me and I'll heal her," said Moanna quickly.

"No, I'm fine," grunted the tan-skinned woman over the mic. "We're the first line of defense, Hane. We need stop the attackers before they set the island completely on fire."

There was a silence over the headsets before Hane responded, "Iho, what are your orders?"

The Warden clenched her jaw as she considered their options. Defending the island against a small force of intruders was one thing, but fighting off an army with only one squad was something else. She knew her comrades were strong, but even they had their limits. If she ordered Hane and Shihono to maintain their posts, then they would probably be overwhelmed. But fleeing the island wasn't an option. It was their duty to defend the prison with their lives or die trying. But having to make that decision for them was something that weighted heavily on Iho. "Hold your posts," she said as calmly as she could manage.

Shihono grinned wickedly from behind her mask and unsheathed her sword, "Gladly. I've never ran from a fight before, and I'm not about to start now."

"And I'd better stick around to keep her out of trouble," said Hane with a fatalistic chuckle.

Iho closed her eyes and smiled, "I'm proud of you two."

"Good luck," said Moanna weakly.

"See you on the other side," said Shihono with a laugh as she and Hane sprinted towards the coast; weapons armed and chakra blazing.

- / -

"My Lord, we've already lost three ships," said a man clad in dark samurai armor as he watched a gigantic spike of earth destroy another vessel in their fleet.

"Which ones?" replied a calm voice.

"Three of the vessels in the orange regiment."

"Good, that's what they are there for," smiled the man.

The captain looked over the nobleman who stood poised by the ship's railing in his lavish garments. "But my Lord Fukazawa, they were good men."

The aristocrat brought a small, delicate handkerchief to his nose and sniffed at its fragrance like he had a thousand times before. "I've already explained it to you, Miyake. There would be casualties as a result of coming to this island."

The captain steadied his weight to accommodate the ship's tilt. "Forgive my ignorance, my Lord. But please explain it to me again," he said with a hint of impatience.

The nobleman sighed in irritation, "Our wonderful Daimyo has demanded that I scale back the numbers of my military force for fear that I will revolt against him. I knew coming to this island would come at a cost of life given the fact it is defended by a group of Konoha's lustrous ANBU. And instead of paying a large sum of money to hire powerful enough mercenaries to combat the ANBU, I've decided to fight them in a battle of attrition. Some men will die in the process of whittling them down – yes. But only the strongest of my military will survive and that prevents me from having to relieve them from service and having a large number of unemployed men in my district and destroying my economy like the Daimyo wants."

The captain clenched his fist in frustration as his liege continued.

"In addition," he held the handkerchief in his hand like a baby bird, "This island harbors a woman who has been imprisoned unfairly. It has taken the better part of two decades for me to find her again, but now that I have, I will not let her be caged like an animal. I will set her free and she will stand by my side." He looked off into the distance, his mind lost in thought, "Together, we will rise in power and become a respected force in the Tea Country." He promptly snapped from his revere. "And those who support me, shall be rewarded well for their loyalty," he said with a small nod towards the captain.

The man watched the nobleman in silence. Though he was pledged as an officer in the man's army, he had little respect for him. Masao Fukazawa had fought no wars; earned no victories. He was simply the only son of a nobleman who had recently inherited his father's wealth after the man died of old age. He was a spoiled brat, one who knew nothing of loss or defeat. Everything in life had a price on it and unfortunately for Masao Fukazawa's people, their lives had little value to him.

When Masao was younger, he spent most of his days either in school, or gallivanting around the Tea Country enjoying his life as a privileged member of society. It wasn't until his twenties that he had returned home with the elegant handkerchief he held in his hand today. It never left the man's side and he often spoke of its owner as having been that of a queen. _His_ queen – one that he would one day take as his bride.

Even 15 years later, Masao's obsession with finding the woman consumed him. He spent a fortune to anyone who might have information on her whereabouts, nearly putting his father in the poor house. It wasn't until a year ago when he learned anything substantial on the woman. He had come across a rogue ninja who was once a member of Konoha's ANBU. The man had information stating the woman was being held on a tiny island outside of the Whirlpool country. After the man's sources were verified, Masao hand-selected 500 of his troops and put them on boats towards the island. And here they were today.

"I don't understand why men have to needlessly die," responded the captain.

"And I don't expect you to understand the intricacies of politics, Captain. I expect you to obey my orders and not question me at every turn."

The armored man's eyes averted to the ground more of anger than shame. "Yes, my Lord," he said as evenly as he could.

"Good," huffed the Masao as he brought the handkerchief to his nose again. "Now, torch the island, but leave the tower untouched. Be sure to fight the ninjas from range as much as possible. Even they cannot fight forever. Once my queen is recovered, inform me immediately."

"Yes, my Lord," bowed the captain.

- / -

"There are too many of them, Iho," gasped Moanna as she held a glowing hand tightly to her bloody side and barely managed to keep up with her lover who supported her weight up a level of stone steps.

The Warden held the woman's arm tighter, "Don't talk like that." She tried to ignore the pain in her lungs from having fought nonstop for what seemed like an eternity; even the sun could be seen rising in the east through the tower's small windows. Both she and Moanna had burned through most of their chakra, struggling to fight off the overwhelming number of forces that had already pushed through their defenses. They fought mostly at ranged – not Iho, nor Moanna's strength. Their aim was frighteningly accurate and it wasn't until after knocking away countless arrows that Moanna was finally struck with a soldier's lucky shot. "Hane and Shihono are still out there. They'll catch up –" She was interrupted by the sound of the metal door between them and Masao's forces being rammed harshly.

"They're no longer responding to our calls on the walkie-talkies, Iho." She sniffed back a few tears, "I'm sure they've been overwhelmed, otherwise we wouldn't be fighting now."

Knowing that was probably the case, Iho couldn't respond – she couldn't bring herself to recognize the fact that her friends were already dead and they would soon follow suit. "Moanna, I'm sorry," she said, her eyes and throat burning from unshed tears. She looked away in shame, "I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough."

Moanna quickly looked to her lover. "Don't apologize!" she snapped. She placed a hand on a nearby wall and pulled her arm free. "You are the strongest person I know, Iho!" She grabbed at the Warden's vest with a bloody hand, "And I do not want my last memory of you being that of a weakness."

Iho watched the woman in stunned silence.

"I respect and love you because you always do the right thing … _always_. You have always kept your word and you're the greatest leader I have ever worked under. I never expected you to protect me because I've been trained to protect myself." She released her hold on Iho's vest and used her bloody finger to paint a seal on the wall next to her. "It's my duty to protect this island and I will proudly die in doing so." She looked back at her partner, "And you have your duty too. And I won't let you go back on your word now."

It wasn't until then that forbidden tears were allowed to flow down Iho's cheeks. "Moanna …"

"Do your duty, Iho," said the red-head solemnly. "Don't let the enemy have the prisoner."

The older woman closed her eyes and nodded in understanding. She quickly embraced her partner as she felt the woman's arms wrap around her. She kissed her bright red lips deeply, "I love you."

"I love you too," said Moanna gently. "Now … please go," she said, her own eyes filling with tears.

Iho's hands held on to her partner's clothing tightly; not wanting to release their hold.

"Go!" shouted the younger woman over the sound of the metal door being smashed free from its hinges.

Iho's eyes shifted from the stairs and the sound of rushing footfalls back to Moanna's deep-blue eyes. What she wouldn't give to drown in those eyes now – it would certainly be a more welcoming end than what fate had decided for her.

"GO!" screamed Moanna as she pushed her lover away and began to form a series of complicated hand signs.

Iho hesitated painfully, stealing one last look at the one she loved before turning and rushing up the stairs to the top of the tower.

Moanna smiled weakly as she turned towards the sounds of the intruders and raised her hand till it was just inches away from the bloody seal she had drawn. She waited until they were in view after rounding the spiral staircase. They shouted warcries at seeing her; drawing their weapons and hurrying forward to cut her down. She waited until they reached one step away from her before placing her hand on the wall. "You are going no further," she said simply before the seal erupted and a surge of summoned water gushed into the stairwell and flooded the lower tower in mere seconds.

- / -

Iho flinched at the sounds of fear and water that echoed up the stairwell. She knew that flooding the tower was Moanna's last act as guard on the island. Just as it was the last act of Hane and Shihono to die defending it.

Iho's legs found new strength as the anger within her ignited. None of them would be on this island if it wasn't for the damnable demon-woman Hidama. If she was dead, then Moanna, Hane, Shihono and Iho would be back home in Konoha. Not isolated in the middle of nowhere. It was time for Iho to promote herself to a new position. When the island was compromised and the prisoner was at risk of escaping, it was Iho's job to ensure Hidama wouldn't leave alive.

Iho was no longer the warden. She was now the executioner.

She clenched her fist tightly as she reached the top level and sprinted towards the metal door that stood between her and the one person she hated with every fiber of her being. Her eyes grew wide with rage and her lips snarled viciously. Halfway down the hall, her arm began to glow with glints of electric energy; her element attunement's strength growing with her wrath.

Once she reached the door, she threw open the slatted window violently and peered in like a woman possessed.

Hidama stood in the middle of the room with her arms crossed – a look of silent amusement on her face. "I have been expecting you," she said calmly.

"You have no idea how much I want to do this," said Iho who shook with rage.

"Then do it," smiled Hidama.

Too angry to think clearly, Iho slammed her hand into the seal on the doorway and sent more than enough chakra to activate it. Instantly the symbols began to glow with white light, but instead of the room filling with lightning like it was suppose to, the metal on the door turned from steel-gray, to red-hot.

Iho was just barely able to notice something wasn't right before the door exploded in a flash of lightning and chakra before her; the force of which sent her and the door back half a dozen feet.

Iho was thrown roughly into the stone ground, her body twitching violently from the lightning-based attack. She could feel her feet begin to grow numb as the nerves within her body melted. She struggled to gain enough control of herself to look at the scene before her - her eyes growing large as she looked at what remained of the door and why the seal malfunctioned.

Plastered across the door from the inside were hundreds of papers, each painted with kanji. Alone, they were nothing more than simple words on paper. But when pasted together with god knows what adhesive, they formed a complex warding seal – one that when Iho imbued the door with her chakra, it empowered the ward and caused her own attack to backfire.

With the door now gone, Hidama wasted no time in exiting her cell; her hair following like a dark, ominous cape behind her. Once her body was free from the chakra-forbearance room, she brought her hands together to form a simple hand sign. "Ah, much better," she said as her body slowly transformed to that of a woman in her middle-aged years, to that of a woman in her mid-twenties. Her wrinkles faded, her skin became smooth and even. Her hair glistened like polished onyx.

She looked over her now pristine hands and marveled at their returned beauty. "Do you see how I sparkle, Iho?" she asked, not taking her eyes away from examining her own body.

The Warden struggled to roll onto her side; her legs no longer under her control. There wasn't much time before her body would cease to function. "You deserve to die!" she spat.

Hidama's head snapped to look at the injured woman. "You have prayed for my death for 15 years – I have wished you no ill-will for the entire duration of my imprisonment." She walked to her warden's side, "I never claimed to be a saint. I am sure you have never lived your life as one, either. Why am I so more deserving of death than you?"

"You … are … evil," groaned Iho.

Hidama grinned, "I am a woman who wishes for a better life than I was born into. If that makes me evil, then so be it." She crossed her arms triumphantly, "But even if I am the evil one, it is I who will survive this day."

"Not … If I … can help it," grunted Iho as she threw out an arm and grabbed at Hidama's ankle. Knowing she wouldn't live to see another day, she used the last of her chakra reserves to send a bolt of lightning up and over the woman's body.

Hidama shrieked in pain as the jolt of electricity rushed up her leg, body and face. Desperately, she kicked the woman's hand away before stumbling back against the wall; her hands cradling her face in agony.

"I'm coming … Moanna," said Iho softly with a grin as she watched the growing darkness from the corners of her vision envelop her.

"My face! _My beautiful face_!" keened Hidama. The smell of burnt flesh and the excruciating pain that ran up her body told her she had been seriously injured. She patted gently at the burns that ran along her cheek and screamed in horror. "_You bitch! You ruined my face!"_

Out of pure rage, Hidama's hands became claw-like; crystal quickly encasing her arms. "You will pay for this!" she roared as she slammed her hands into the limestone floors and sent her chakra into Iho's body. The warden's remains exploded in a spray of blood and innards as crystal spikes sprang from the ground like an urchin. But Hidama wasn't finished there. Any recognizable piece of Iho was disintegrated under Hidama's fury. The Hachi woman's wrath wasn't sated until the hallway's bleach-white walls ran red with the Iho's blood.

- / -

"My Lord, I think it would be wise if you return to the ship," sighed Miyake. "We are not sure if all the threats have been dealt with."

Masao ignored him, "She's in that tower – my Queen. I am so close … I have waited so long for this."

Miyake followed him to the base of the tower. It was impossible to reason with him as he was on the brink of raving like a madman. Perhaps they would all be lucky and something unfortunate would happen …

"Open the door!" commanded Masao to a group of soldiers.

One man looked at him apprehensively, "I'm sorry Sir, but the tower has been flooded." He indicated the bottom of the door where water could be seen leaking under the narrow crack.

"Nonsense," scoffed Masao. "I said open it, _now_!"

There was a quick exchange of looks before the nearby soldiers stepped back cautiously. Captain Miyake nodded to one of the men to have them do as they were ordered. The man took a rope and tied it around the handle before moving a good distance away. With a hard yank the door burst open and out gushed a small lake's worth of water. All that poured from the doorway at first was a series of mundane items – chairs, books, papers; then something more horrific washed out. Miyake lost count of all the bodies that rolled out from the doorway – all of them were soldiers; the unfortunate few who fell under Moanna's trap. It wasn't until a few minutes after the last body poured out that anyone spoke.

"Now that is out of the way," huffed Masao as he picked up his robes and marched towards the doorway.

Miyake kept up with the nobleman easily, especially after the fourth floor of ascending stairs.

"I can sense she is close," panted Masao as he struggled to keep his pace.

"Indeed, my Lord," said Miyake cautiously. It didn't take him long to catch the overwhelming scent of blood. He quickly rushed past Masao and hurried to the top of the tower to see the morbid sight before him.

Covered in blood and kneeling on the ground was a raven-haired woman who cradled her face; her body wracking in hard sobs.

"My Queen," gasped Masao who was blind to the horror scene before him. "I have found you finally!"

The woman stared at them from between her clawed fingers; her face not clearly visible. There was a long moment before she finally spoke. "Masao?" she said with uncertainty.

The man was nearly brought to tears, "Yes – you remember me!" He looked her over, "What is wrong? Are you injured?"

Hidama clenched her fists painfully as she altered her appearance to hide her wounds and restore her beauty through a transformation jutsu. "Yes, dear Masao. I am injured." She struggled to stand, "I will need a doctor."

Masao grew worried, "Of course!" He turned to one of his soldiers, "Fetch the doctor immediately!"

"Yes, my Lord," said the man who was more than happy to leave the gore-ridden floor.

Masao quickly moved to Hidama's side and pulled off his robe before draping it around her shoulders. The Hachi woman's pain was forgotten as her hand traced over the silken patterns – to wear fineries again. She felt her sense of purpose returning to her.

Miyake looked around the hallway, "What happened here?"

"Don't bother the lady with stupid questions!" snapped Masao. "She needs to rest and recover."

_The captain eyed Hidama; his skin __practically crawling at the look of satisfaction across her face. Though she was indeed beautiful by appearance, it was hard to look past the fact that she was still covered in blood and found in such a gruesome setting. But he was soon distracted by a sudden rush of adrenaline that quickly surged through him; causing his heart to pump faster and his blood to race._

"Masao, I am surprised you remember me after all this time," she said sweetly as she took his hand.

_Miyake's breath quickened as his annoyance for Masao grew. The man was so incredibly stupid and selfish. Why should he follow the orders of an idiot?__ A man who threw away the lives of his men like last week's garbage._

"How could I forget, My Queen?" Masao held up her handkerchief, "I have kept this with me always – just as you asked."

_The captain didn't realize his hand was already on his sword's hilt, gripping it tightly. He was becoming so incredibly angry; full of rage, even.__ He no longer had control of his emotions and his mind had lost all forms of reason._

Hidama grinned at the proffered cloth in Masao's hand. It was one of the oldest tricks in her book: give a man a favor, one laced with her pheromone. Having smelt her scent for years, Masao was more addicted to her than a man could be to any drug. She had given such an item to numerous enamored men in her day – she wouldn't be surprised if Masao wasn't the only one still devoted to her after so many years. "I am proud of you," she praised. "Tell me, why did you come for me?"

"I am in need of your services, my Queen," said Masao eagerly. "I need your influence to help establish me in the Tea Country. You know a great deal about the diplomacy of our countries and I know you could help me."

Hidama's expression grew dark, "You want me to work for you?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes," said Masao delicately. "But of course, it would be for the betterment of both of us. With you by my side, we can both rise in power."

"Is that so?" grinned Hidama. She didn't even flinch as a sword suddenly sliced through Masao's sternum; spraying a small amount of blood on her cheek.

"Sir?" gasped the one of the soldiers who watched their captain in shock. Miyake maintained his stance, not removing his sword from his liege lord's back.

"Wh … why?" whimpered the nobleman as he looked down at the blade that protruded through him.

Hidama took his chin, "Because I work for no one. And if anyone is going to rise in power, it will be me." She palmed his face as Miyake suddenly withdrew his sword. She promptly pushed him to the ground where he fell in a huddled mass. "And it was your mistake to bring an army of _men_ to my doorstep." She looked around the room at the other dumbstruck soldiers. "I am giving you a choice. Either choose to follow me of your own free will, or I will use my bloodline ability to bind you to me like I have your captain." She stepped forward and patted at the man's shoulder, "Either way … you will obey me in the end."

"But I came to save you!" cried Masao.

Hidama sneered as she looked down at the pathetic man, "And I thank you for that. But you will die for your foolishness." She looked around the room again before glancing back at the captain and his overly dilated eyes. "Kill them all," she said simply as she pulled Masao's extravagant coat tighter around her shoulders and headed towards the stairs.

There were no other soldiers nearby to hear the screams of their comrades as they were viciously cut down.

- / -

"Captain, where is Lord Fukazawa?" asked a soldier as he and Hidama exited the tower. He glanced at the woman who walked past him with her long hair rolled around her arm like a muff. She wasn't even a few feet away before he felt a rush come over him. Soon after, the next soldier felt the same sensation and then the next. Hidama's face was one of determination as she walked through the crowd and allowed her body to exude her potent pheromone. She undeniably had the strongest Zeru-roiyaru in the Hachi Clan's history – easily ten times more powerful than that of her mother or her own daughter. And with the help of her chakra guiding it to all reaches of the island, there would soon be no man within miles who wasn't under her control.

With a portion of Masao's army at her command and the dead nobleman's wealth at her disposal, she now had the opportunity she had been waiting a lifetime for ... It was time to build her empire.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Thank you, for reading!<strong>_


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

* * *

><p>"Good Morning, Young Man," said the middle-aged nurse cheerfully from behind the hospital's front desk.<p>

"Good Morning!" laughed Gai boisterously as he gave her a small salute with the bouquet of lilies he held in his hand.

"Aren't those just beautiful?" said the nurse as she observed the flowers. "You have excellent taste, Young Man."

Gai finished signing his name in the guest log and gave her a wide grin. "I like to think I have an eye for beauty," he said with a wink. Though he wouldn't dare mention it was the girl who worked at the flower shop who had picked them out.

"I wish my husband had the same taste as you," said the nurse as she winked in return. "That young lady you keep visiting is quite lucky to have you. Are you two engaged?"

Gai blushed and scratched at the back of his head in embarrassment, "Uh, actually we're just friends."

The nurse lifted an eyebrow and crossed her arms, "Oh really? You must be good friends then."

The color in Gai's cheeks grew redder under her scrutinizing gaze. "I suppose so, Ma'am."

The older woman gave him a smirk before quickly glancing at the clock, "You're late though. Her test has already begun."

Gai grabbed the counter in shock. "Late? The test wasn't supposed to start until after lunch!" He looked at the clock and it assured him he had plenty of time to spare.

"The Hokage-sama decided to perform the test earlier so she could be in attendance. They started almost an hour ago." She gasped as Gai immediately dashed around the counter in a blur of green and orange. "No running!" she called after him as he sprinted down the hallway.

'Damnit!' cursed Gai inwardly as he ducked and dodged various hospital employees. He had promised to offer her support for this test and he'd practically missed the whole thing. It didn't take him long to find the right place. One story down from the main level there was an examination room that had been set up to put Konoha's ninja through various stress tests to ensure they were fit to return to active duty. He saw two sets of doors off the hallway: large double doors to accommodate moving equipment, and a single door leading to an observational room. He entered the second door and was greeted by the methodical 'beeps' and 'bops' emanating from the various computer screens secured to the walls. On one side of the room was a large one-way mirror that allowed him to see into the examination room in private. He placed the flowers on one of the monitors as he walked to the window and leaned against the sill to peer through.

Twice as large, the next room also contained multiple computer screens and an assortment of exercise equipment. In the center of the room was a treadmill and running at a good pace was the very person Gai was there to see. Blond hair and breasts bouncing despite a very determined sports bra, Hani panted painfully as she struggled to keep up with the stress test she was being put through. Like a spider's web, attached to her chest were a dozen electrodes with cords that stretched out to the heart monitoring device in the room. One nurse stood by the device; making small notes on a clipboard at every few intervals. Another nurse in the room stood at the ready next to the treadmill with a water bottle in one hand and a towel in the next.

"You're doing well," came a firm voice from the observation balcony that overlooked the room. Tsunade and her assistant Shizune both read a long printed report of what Gai suspected was the EKG of Hani's heart. Their hushed tones combined with the equipment's noise prevented Gai from hearing their discussion.

"Can … I stop now?" gasped the young kunoichi desperately.

"Just a little longer," said the Hokage without taking her eyes from what she was studying.

"Unnn!" whined Hani as she grabbed the hand railing and struggled to keep up the pace.

Gai grinned as he looked over to one of the monitors and read the information for her test. She was nearing the tenth mile. Her heart was beating at around 150 beats per minute. And her oxygen percentage was at 100%. He was all too familiar with this test – it wasn't unusual for an injured shinobi to undergo this analysis when being evaluated on whether or not it was safe to take them off medical leave and Gai certainly had his fair share of injuries.

Hani wiped the sweat away from her forehead with her arm, "Tsunade … I can't … go any … farther … at this … pace!" The nurse next to her offered her the bottle of water. "Thank you," said Hani breathlessly as he took the bottle and haphazardly squirted water into her mouth and down her front.

Suddenly, Tsunade's voice echoed over the room. "No Shizune, that's not an option," she said a little louder than she meant to.

Hani looked up into the balcony with a look of concern, "What's wrong?"

Tsunade took a pen and started making notes on the report, "Nothing. You're done."

"Thank the gods!" sighed Hani as one of the nurses turned down her treadmill to a walk. She took the proffered towel and patted at her neck. "I didn't think I was going to be able to finish it," she said with a hoarse voice.

"Well, apparently we were a bit premature with this test," said Tsunade as she signed a clipboard Shizune had handed her.

Hani watched her in silence for a few moments, "What do you mean?"

Tsunade dropped her pen on the desk and spoke flatly, "You failed the test."

"Failed? What the hell do you mean, 'failed'?" Hani wrapped her arm around the various cords that were taped to her and stepped off the treadmill. "I just ran ten miles in 60 minutes! How did I fail?"

Tsunade leaned against the balcony's handrail, "The test results show that your heart was straining too much during the test and that means you failed. I can't approve of you going off medical leave yet."

"What the hell, Tsunade?" yelled Hani as she stomped her foot out of frustration. "I've been in this damn hospital for nearly two freaking weeks! What have all the treatments been for?"

A vein bulged on the Hokage's brow, "The injury you sustained on your last mission should have killed you Hani, but thanks to that damn sword and Maito Gai, you're still alive. But the damage was still done – the third valve to your heart was so scarred when you returned to Konoha that you're lucky you didn't die of a heart attack on the way home! The treatments have healed your valve enough to keep you from collapsing dead anytime you try to walk a flight of stairs or bear down too hard on the toilet!" She took a slow breath in an attempt at calming her anger, "But we need more time and more treatments before I'm comfortable with releasing you."

Hani gritted her teeth, "How much longer will it take?"

"I'll be more comfortable after you've had another week of treatments-"

"Another _week_?" interrupted Hani. "You can't be serious!"

Tsunade tried to talk over her, "After that time, you will take this test again."

"Again?" yelled Hani. "No! I refuse! I'm not doing this damn test again!"

Gai turned his head quickly at the squall of a warning alarm from one of the monitors. He saw the warning prompt and moved immediately to the door connecting the two rooms.

"Hokage-sama!" gasped Shizune as she looked at one of the monitors on the balcony.

Hani was too angry to notice the alarm, "I don't need to do this test again! I feel fine!" She grew abruptly quiet as the blood suddenly drained from her face.

Tsunade pointed at Hani from over the railing, "Catch her!"

Hani's small frame dropped like a rock, but instead of hitting the hard tiled floor of the hospital room, she fell into the outstretched arms of an ever vigilant jounin. "Gotcha," said Gai in relief.

Tsunade and Shizune jumped from the balcony and landed next to them. "Hold her still, Gai," said Tsunade as she pulled up her sleeve and pressed it to the center of Hani's chest.

Gai looked between the three kunoichi, "What's happening?"

"Shh!" whispered Shizune who was watching Tsunade concentrate.

"Adrenaline," said Tsunade quietly as she channeled her chakra through her hand.

A nurse on stand-by handed Shizune the medication, which she injected into Hani's IV-Line.

Gai placed a hand on Hani's cheek as he noticed her lips begin to turn blue and her breath shallow. "Hokage-sama?" he said weakly.

The older woman skewed her eyes shut as the chakra glow around her hand swelled. "Her heart is panicking and unable to beat normally," she said in a soft voice.

"Panicking?" said Gai equally as soft. He looked down and lightly rubbed Hani's cheek with this thumb. "Is there anything I can do?"

"You can be quiet!" snapped Shizune out of frustration.

Tsunade placed her other hand on Hani's chest; increasing the chakra she poured into the young woman. She could sense Hani's heart spasm out of control and it was a delicate task to convince the nerves to slow down and not stop completely. She took a deep breath and released it slowly; calming herself and using the steady beat of her own heart to channel through to Hani's in an attempt at soothing it. But just as soon as she feared Hani's heart would start to affect her own, Tsunade's chakra was finally able to calm the nerves in the young woman's heart and persuade it to beat at a normal rate.

Gai released the breath he held as Hani suddenly gasped for air and the color in her face returned.

"There," said Tsunade as she withdrew her chakra and felt Hani's heartbeat with her own hands. "She should be alright now." She turned to Shizune, "Have her taken to her room and make sure she is hooked up to a heart monitor. If her heart tries this stunt again, I want to know immediately."

Her assistant bowed, "I understand, Hokage-sama." She spoke her next words carefully, "Are you certain you won't consider placing her on the list?"

"I've already explained it to you, Shizune," said Tsunade as she stood to make room for Gai to lift Hani and place her on a gurney. "The list isn't an option."

Shizune bowed again, "Hai, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade turned to Gai and placed a reassuring hand on his arm as he watched the nurses wheel Hani away. "Good catch," she said with a small smile.

- / -

Gai sighed despondently as he twirled the stem of a flower in his hand. He sat on a chair he pulled up next to Hani's bed. Washed and redressed in a hospital gown, she slept peacefully despite the noisy heart monitor that beeped from the side of her bed. One of the nurses placed the flowers he brought in a simple vase and sat it before an open window, letting the cool breeze of Konoha's eternal summer fill the room with the bouquet's scent. He gently placed his other hand on top of hers and gave it a reassuring rub to let her know he was by her side. In the calming quiet of the room, Gai let his mind wander and reflect back on the past few weeks.

Their trip back from the mansion had been a long one. Despite Hani's determination, she was far too weak to travel very far each day. They could only spend six hours a day on the road, and most of that time involved Gai carrying her. The other 18 hours of the day were spent resting at various inns.

Their first night they stayed up late after having eaten a hefty dinner. They sat in their matching twin beds, facing each other and leaning against the walls of their small room; reminiscing of their more youthful days. Hani rubbed the silken collar of her sleeper kimono between her fingers. "When I was young," she said with a small smile, "I wanted to be a dancer … like my mother." Gai watched as her eyes drifted off to the side from her mind wandering to more nostalgic thoughts. "She was an amazing dancer," she said with a hint of pride. "When she danced, people watched her like they were entranced; like she was a sorceress. Her whole body moved as if it was casting a spell." Her eyes fell, "After she died, that's when I finally wanted to be a kunoichi – a Willow Warrior. I didn't want the memory of my clan to be tarnished by her. I wanted to restore honor to our name and no longer feel like I should be ashamed of who I was. If not for me, then for my grandmother."

Gai smiled softly, "I've wanted to be a shinobi for as long as I could remember. Both of my parents were amazing ninja in their day and I would get so excited by the stories of their missions that I couldn't sleep at night." He adjusted his position till he was more comfortable. "My father told me, that if I trained hard and did my best, then I would be able to protect the ones I cared about." He smirked, "So I've trained hard every day of my life so I could make sure no harm came to those who were most precious to me …" His face fell, "Again."

Hani closed her eyes and sighed, her mouth curling into a bittersweet smile. Soundlessly, she crept out of her bed and moved before his. She stood before him, watching him in silence. Feeling the pressure of her stare Gai glanced up at her, but struggled to look her in the eye for more than a second at a time. She could see shame in his eyes, regardless of how hard he tried to hide it. "Move over," she said with a small push on his knee. He was quiet as she crawled into his bed with him and leaned against the wall by his side.

"Let me see your hand," she said as she rested her head on his shoulder.

He held out his right hand for her.

"Would you rather gain scars than shed tears?" She said as she cradled his hand in one of hers and used the fingers of her other to trace the fine lines that marred his knuckles. "Or do you use the external scars to hide the inner ones?" she asked softly.

Gai looked away. He was mute for a long time as he considered her words. "Both," he said finally.

"Don't feel bad," she said with a sigh. "Everyone does the same thing."

He took her hand in his. "Even you?" he asked, indicating her skin's flawless complexion.

She lifted her head and looked in his eyes with a smile, "Some of us have more scars on the inside than the out."

That night, after they had been asleep for hours, Gai's heightened senses alerted him to the sounds of distress. He awoke to the sounds of gasping and choking. He jumped out of bed before he even knew the source and after his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, he found the noises were coming from Hani. He walked cautiously to her bed and leaned in to watch her closely. She was still asleep, but her eyes were fluttering wildly while she struggled to breathe. Concerned for her welfare, Gai placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a stern shake. "Hani! You're dreaming!" he said roughly.

She startled awake and if he didn't already have his hand on her shoulder, she would have probably jumped out of the bed at the same time. Her eyes were wide and her breaths where deep and desperate as she watched him for a few seconds while she gained her bearings.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm … I'm fine," she said after her breath finally slowed. "Just a nightmare." She patted him on the arm reassuringly, "It was nothing. Go back to sleep."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded, "Yes. Sorry for waking you."

"It's alright," he said as he headed back to bed. He didn't give it another thought until three hours later when he was awoken yet again from the same sounds. This time he headed straight for her bed and didn't hesitate before placing his hand on her shoulder again. But as soon as his hand touched her, she jumped away from him and roughly slammed her back into the wall her bed was pushed against. "Shit! Hani? Are you alright?" he asked as he reached out to her.

She immediately slapped his hand away defensively. "Get away from me!" she shouted.

Gai froze and watched her in dumbfounded silence while she rubbed her shoulder and looked around the room hastily. It took her a full minute just to realize she was actually awake. She covered her face with her hands as realization sank in. "I'm sorry – I thought I was still dreaming."

He knelt next to her bed, "It's okay." He suddenly noticed her whole body was shaking, "Hani, are you sure you're alright?"

"No, I'm not alright!" she snapped, then flinched at her outburst and began rubbing her forehead with an unsteady hand, "I've been having nightmares since we fought Oda and I'm having a hard time getting over them."

"It's no doubt. You barely escaped death. Most shinobi who go through something like that are haunted by nightmares afterwards. Do you want to talk about them?"

She gave him a sheepish look, "No, I'd really rather not." She tucked her hair behind her ear as she started to get out of bed, "I'm going to see if I can find a bar that is open this late. Maybe a drink or two might help settle my nerves?"

Gai grabbed her, "Absolutely not."

She gave him an angry look, "Why not?"

"Hani, I've seen many a great shinobi who would have 'a few drinks' to help settle their nerves, only for them to become completely dependent on it. I'm not going to let that happen to you."

"Well, what do you suggest I do?" she asked, her tone irritated.

He thought about the options, "Well … I don't remember you having nightmares the night we shared the same bed. Did you have any then?"

She gave it some thought, "No, I didn't."

"Well," he said; the redness of his cheeks hidden in the darkness of their room. "We could try sharing a bed again."

A grin crept across her face, "Pervert."

He winced, "I didn't mean it like that. My intentions are purely innocent."

She looked away as she gave it some thought. "I'd rather become an alcoholic," she said with a smirk. Gai rolled his eyes and groaned. "I'm just kidding," she laughed. "Fine, I'll give it a try. Just keep it tucked in," she teased.

"Hey, I'm the one doing you a favor," he joked back.

"Oh well," she said in a mocking tone as she made room in her bed for him. "If you feel I need to owe you one, then I suppose you could cop a feel or two as compensation."

He climbed into bed with her. "Now you're just being mean," he said with a small pout. They looked at the space between them awkwardly. Neither of them sure how intimately close they were willing to be with the other. "How are we going to do this?" he asked carefully.

Hani rolled on her side to face him and tucked her arms in before her. "Anything other than spooning."

"Why?" asked Gai before he gave it any thought.

Hani brought her finger to his forehead and pressed it firmly between his brows. "How annoying is that?" she said after a couple seconds. "Pretty irritating, huh?" She stopped. "Now increase the size of my finger 10 times and imagine it poking you in the ass. _That's_ why we're not spooning."

The redness in Gai's face deepened. "I said I was sorry. I really can't help it when I'm sleeping – and when it's the morning, there really is no helping it whether you're pressed up against me or not."

Hani closed her eyes, "All the more reason not to spoon, then."

They were both silent for a while before Gai spoke again, "Your finger times 10? Am I really that big?"

"Gai, shut up," she sighed.

From that point on they spent the night together. Gai would wrap his arms around her protectively each night as she drifted off to sleep next to him. She didn't reject him – she welcomed the security his presence offered her. And for whatever reason, sleeping with him warded off her dire dreams.

There was no sex between them in that time. Hani was far too frail and Gai too worried about her to even consider it. They would go to bed at dusk and remain there till noon, when she would finally wake. Even though Gai arose each morning at sunrise, he would remain in bed with her until she had awakened. He made the mistake one morning to sneak out and grab a bite of breakfast while she slept in, only to return to their room to find her sitting up in bed, shaking like a leaf from another bad dream. Gai made a promise to himself in that moment that as long as she slept he would remain by her side to guard over her. The next morning, he spent hours simply twirling the curls in her golden hair around his finger to satisfy a childhood curiosity. Another he spent what felt like an eternity staring at her face and resisting the urge to steal a kiss.

On the last morning, Gai awoke to find her watching him with a genuine good-humored grin on her face. When he asked her how she could have possibly woken before him, she informed him with a chuckle that he had been snoring for the past hour. "Why didn't you wake me?" he had asked her, his face red with embarrassment. "Because it gave me a chance to watch over you for awhile," she said with a smile.

They shared a kiss then. It was slow and long. She ran her hands over him that morning and his body ached everywhere she touched. He was at his most youthful in the morning and his body was already eager to be with her. But as she sat up him and leaned in to kiss him again, Gai noticed her arms shook under her own weight. Gai nearly choked on his words as he placed his hands on her shoulders to steady her, "You need more time to recover."

She looked away and sighed. Her skin lacked its usual glow and her eyes seemed dark and tired. "I know," she said softly. "I can't seem to recover my strength, no matter how much I sleep."

Gai rubbed her shoulders reassuringly, "We will be at Konoha tonight. I'll take you to the hospital and they will help you regain your health."

Her voice was barely audible, "What if they can't help me?"

He chuckled as he pulled her in to lie on his chest, "This is the first time you've been seriously injured, is it not?"

She nodded.

"They are miracle workers at the hospital, Hani. And we have the good fortune of having the amazing healer Tsunade in our village. She will help you and she will make you better than new."

"I don't like the hospital," said Hani as she traced a finger across his chest. "I spent a lot of time there when I was a kid and undergoing poison training as a child."

"I spent a good deal of time there too," chuckled Gai. "Because I was a slow learner and it took a few good hits before I learned to duck faster." He took her hand and held it still to keep it from teasing his inner beast. "It's part of a shinobi's life to spend a lot of time in the hospital. In fact, my rival Kakashi Hatake is in the hospital for more time than he is out of it."

"Will you visit me?"

He smiled, "Of course! Don't think you will be rid of me so easily."

She was quiet for a long moment before speaking again, "What if I can't sleep?"

Gai took a slow, deep breath as he considered her words. "I think the hospital staff would frown upon the idea of me sharing a bed with you in the hospital at night, regardless of the reason." He ran a callused hand through her hair to reassure her, "Perhaps if you told me about your nightmares, it might help you deal with them?"

Hani was already sitting up and turning away from him before he finished his sentence. "I don't want to talk about it," she said sternly.

Gai sat up. "Why?" But before he could say another word, he noticed a red splotch on the back of her sleeper kimono. "Hani," he said quickly as he grabbed the collar of her clothing and tugged it down. "You're bleeding."

Hani looked over her shoulder as she untied her belt and let her clothing fall to her waist. Meanwhile, Gai reached around the bed and grabbed the medical bag. He changed the dressing for the exit wound on her back a half dozen times on their trip home and it had shown good signs of healing. The gauze had been a little bloody each time he had removed it but given that Hani's blood refused to clot normally, that made sense. But this was the first time it bled enough to saturate the bandage. "Don't worry," he said as her body began to shake. He pulled the old bandage free and quickly applied a clotting salve over her weeping wound. "They'll take care of this at the hospital." He spotted her head fall slightly. "It will be alright, Petal. I promise."

They arrived at Konoha late that night and not a moment too soon. Hani became so weak she was no longer able to hold on to him while he carried her. Gai resorted to securing a rope around her to him to keep her from falling off. He rushed to the hospital as fast as he dared. Her wounds were still fragile and he worried jostling her too much would result in more blood loss.

Thank the gods Tsunade was already at the hospital finishing her nightly rounds and was able to see Hani immediately. A dcotor assessed Gai in a separate room while a team of hospital staff tended to Hani. She was awake and able to respond, but just barely. For the next 48 hours, Gai was unable to visit her while she stayed in the intensive care unit. He had spent one night in the hospital for evaluation before he was released, but he refused to leave until someone had given him an update on Hani's status. When he was finally able to see her, he was relieved to see she was resting quietly; the glow had returned to her skin and her wounds no longer needed bandages. Tsunade's gifted touch left them pink and raw, but healed.

Gai was soon summoned to the Hokage's office so he could share all of the particulars of the mission and why it had turned into such a horrible mess. Tsunade had Oda's sword taken away by an ANBU captain and had a mountain of paperwork delivered to Gai's home for him to fill out so they could have a hard record of what exactly happened. However, he suspected Tsunade was simply trying to give him something to preoccupy him while Hani recovered. He visited her as often as he could – enough to annoy the nursing staff to the point where they would swat him away at the end of the day when visiting hours were over. It wasn't the first time he had dealt with stubborn hospital employees; he practically lived at the hospital when his precious student Lee was bed-bound after the chuunin exams.

For days, Hani did little more than sleep. But one day when Gai went to visit her for a lunch break, he was delighted to see her sitting up in bed as he walked down the hall towards her room. He immediately halted his steps as he spotted a beautiful, young, silver-haired woman dressed in a kimono sitting on her bed. The woman was calm and serene and Hani smiled at her with authentic love. Gai stood outside the room for fear that he would interrupt the two women in what seemed to be a private conversation. After a while, the visiting woman took her cane and stood. She leaned down and kissed Hani's forehead, then gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder before quietly leaving her room and walking elegantly down the hallway. Gai did his best to blend into the wall as she walked past, but he couldn't help but note how every member of the hospital staff bowed slightly to the silver-haired woman as she moved through the building. Whoever she was, she had earned a great deal of respect. After she was out of sight, Gai knocked on the doorway to Hani's room. He was greeted with a bright smile and a "Hey Big Guy". Seeing that the spark had returned to Hani's eyes was a great reward for him and he was nearly moved to tears in that moment.

Hani had recovered rapidly in the next couple days, so much so that Gai was certain she would ace the stress test. It was much to his surprise that today he was now sitting in a chair at her bedside where her progress had clearly taken a huge step back.

"It's no surprise to see you here," came a calm voice.

Gai practically jumped out of his seat from being startled, "Hokage-sama!"

"Shh," she said softly. She walked to the end of Hani's bed and took the clipboard that hung on the footboard. "How has she been sleeping?"

"Peacefully," said Gai as he checked Hani's face for any sign of distress.

"Good. I had her sedated to be sure." Tsunade flipped through a few pages pinned by the clipboard before returning it to its place. "Hani gave us a bit of a scare there, didn't she?" she asked as she lifted the blankets from Hani's legs and felt her feet for a pulse and to check their warmth.

Gai wrenched his hands worriedly, "Hai, Hokage-sama. I'm actually pretty shocked she collapsed."

Tsunade returned the blankets and walked to the side of the bed, "Me too." She felt the pulse at Hani's collar for a few seconds before running both her hands down Hani's neck and feeling for any abnormalities along her collarbone. "I never would have ordered the test if I thought she would be in any danger."

"Will she be alright, Hokage-sama?" asked Gai nervously.

The older woman turned to him and smiled, "She'll be fine. Shizune will be doing her treatments from now on. There is no one in the hospital better with scar treatment than her."

Gai watched Hani's chest rise and fall a few times before speaking, "Shizune said something about a 'list'. What was she talking about?"

Tsunade sighed as she tucked her jacket around her before sitting on the edge of Hani's bed. "Shizune had suggested we consider putting Hani on the transplant list."

"Transplant list?" asked Gai in shock.

"Yes, in case we're unable to heal the damage to her heart. But I've made it clear that Hani isn't a candidate for a transplant."

"Why not?"

"Her body isn't like yours or mine. She's been ingesting poison for over twenty years – her body has suffered permanent damage from doing so. For instance, her liver has been impaired to the point where it is no longer able to clot her blood properly. In addition, the antigens in her system that make her resistant to poison makes her blood toxic. If we were to take blood from her and transfuse it into someone else, it would kill them in minutes."

Gai looked at Hani's resting face, "I had no idea."

"No form of training comes without consequence." Tsunade brushed a small strand of hair from her face, "Basically if we tried to transplant a new heart into her now, if she didn't bleed to death on the surgery table, the contaminants in her blood would destroy the organ before it even had a chance. That's why it's important we fix the heart she has. She only gets one."

"Will she be able to continue to be a kunoichi?"

Tsunade smiled, "I have a lot of faith in Shizune." She took Hani's hand and checked her IV line. "And if there is one thing I've learned about the Hachi Clan, it's that their women are extremely stubborn and if they set their mind to something, they'll see it through to the end. I have no doubt that Hani will pass the stress test with flying colors next time." She rolled her eyes slightly, "Only to save herself from having to exert that much physical effort a third time."

Gai chuckled in understanding.

Tsunade watched him, "So … why are you here, Gai?"

He was a bit taken aback by her question, "What do you mean Hokage-sama?"

She lifted her chin as she announced her words more clearly, "Why are you here?"

Gai looked between his superior and Hani. "Because she is my comrade and she was my partner on the mission that resulted in her being injured."

Tsunade observed him with a calculating look, "You're not blaming yourself for this, are you?"

Gai quickly looked away, "I was in charge of this mission … it was my duty to protect her."

Tsunade sighed deeply as she closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Gai, why do you keep doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Blaming yourself whenever someone gets hurt. You do this every time one of your students is put in the hospital, or a teammate is wounded. It's not healthy. Every ninja knows the cost of putting their lives on the line and understand that injury comes with the job."

Gai swallowed the lump in his throat, "I don't think you understand, Hokage-sama." He looked at the sleeping woman, "The blow that nearly killed her was intended for me."

Tsunade's eyes widened in disbelief, "Hani sacrificed herself?"

Gai nodded, "Yes and without hesitation. So it is my duty as an honor bound shinobi to ensure that she is returned to full health. I owe her my life and being by her side while she recovers is the very least I could do."

The older woman narrowed her eyes, "Why would she do that?"

"Well uh," said Gai who was at a loss for words.

"I didn't mean it like that," said Tsunade as she held up her hand. "What I meant was that I've never known Hani to be anything but … well, selfish. In fact, if she hadn't been stabbed through the heart, I would have seriously doubted she even had one to begin with."

Gai stared her straight in the eye, "I mean this as no offense, Hokage-sama, but you've clearly never had a chance to get to know her very well, if that's the highest you think of her."

The woman folded her hands in her lap and managed to keep her anger in check. "I know her a good deal better than you realize, Gai," she said with a forced sweetness. "However, regardless of whether or not you feel it's your duty to be here, I've assigned you to a mission. You will be leaving in the morning."

"But, Hokage-sama!" said Gai quickly as the woman stood.

"You do Konoha no good sitting in a hospital when you're perfectly healthy. I need you to carry out this mission – it calls for your team's superior speed."

"Surely it can wait a few more days—!"

"No it can't," said Tsunade, her patience wearing thin. "One of our couriers has gone missing. I need you and your team to find him as soon as possible. The documents he was carrying were very sensitive."

Gai tried to interject, "This sounds more like a tracking mission. Surely a team with an Inuzuka assigned to it would be better?"

"There aren't any teams with an Inuzuka that is as fast as yours. Besides, Neji's byakugan will work just as well."

"But, Hokage—!"

"You say 'but' one more time and I will throw you out of this building myself!" she snapped. She immediately closed her eyes and rubbed at the throbbing vein on her forehead. She had only been Hokage for a little over a year and the strain of being the leader of an entire village and the head of the hospital was beginning to take its toll on her. When she wasn't spending her day at her desk poring over the documents Shizune continuously shoved in front of her, she would be at the hospital making sure every patient was getting the best care possible. To say she was simply overworked would be the understatement of the year. She took a slow breath, recollected herself and then spoke with a good deal more control, "Hani will be fine while you are gone. Trust me."

Gai watched her walk around the bed to his side, "But I wanted to see her when she wakes up."

Tsunade laid her hand on his shoulder and took a firm grasp of his vest, "She's a big girl, Gai. I'm sure she will be fine without you brooding over her." She gave him a firm yank and pulled him out of the chair and towards the door. "Meanwhile, I highly suggest you go collect your team and inform them that you will be departing at first light." Gai quickly caught his balance as she pushed him through the doorway, "Stop by the mission office on your way home. The information you need will be there."

Gai clenched his jaw slightly before nodding. He knew resisting now would not be healthy for him, "Hai, Hokage-sama." He stole a quick look at Hani before turning from the door and storming away.

Tsunade crossed her arms and shook her head slowly as she watched him leave. Once he was out of sight, she turned back to the room and closed the door before walking to Hani's bed. She made a series of simple hand seals and then lightly touched the center of Hani's forehead. Instantly, the young woman's eyes opened. "Good evening," said Tsunade casually.

Hani blinked a few times in confusion as she looked around the room. "Evening?" she said coarsely.

Tsunade poured a glass of water and handed it to her, "Yes. Do you remember what happened?"

Hani sat up and took the proffered cup. "Judging by the electrodes that are stuck to my chest and the throbbing headache I have, it didn't go well."

"You had a heart attack," said Tsunade flatly.

"I – what?" said Hani as she nearly choked on the water.

"That's actually not why I woke you," said the older woman as she crossed her arms. "I want to hear what happened on this latest mission from your perspective. Specifically between you and Maito Gai."

Hani gave her a dirty look as she sat the glass on a nearby table, "What do you take me for, an idiot? Nothing happened. We were assigned a mission that turned out to be a farce and we just barely made it through. Excellent work on the background check for the contract, by the way."

Tsunade ignored her sarcasm. "Gai is here night and day watching over you like a love struck puppy. That comes across to me that something between the two of you developed."

"He has a heart the size of Hokage Mountain, Tsunade. He cares about people. Surely you remember what it was like to care about someone other than yourself?"

"So help me, Hani, if you weren't already in the hospital," she said out of shock at the young woman's audacity.

Hani disregarded her threatening tone, "If anything developed between us, it's that we became friends. The man's a big, naive oaf who believes there is good in everyone, regardless of how evil they might be. And the only reason he's been at the hospital as much as he has is because he wants to take the burden of blaming himself than leave it for others to endure."

"In spite of how much of a lovey-dovey schmuck Gai might be, when was the last time a Hachi woman took a killing blow for a man?" When the young woman didn't answer, Tsunade threw her head back in frustration, "Damnit Hani! You know better than this! This could jeopardize your skills as a seductress!"

Hani tightened her lips and glared back at her, "_Nothing happened!"_

Deftly, the older woman formed two seals and firmly pressed her left hand on Hani's abdomen.

"Tsunade!" shrieked Hani as she grabbed the woman's arm. She stifled a gasp as her cheeks flushed at the sensation of the woman's chakra invading her body. Her legs clenched together while her lower half was flooded with the feeling of hot water being poured into her.

The medic-nin's eyes closed as she got a sense of the physical status of Hani's body. There were no bruises - no tears. Her body was fully intact. In fact, she showed no signs of having ever been with a man. But knowing Hani's past, that just simply wasn't possible. Either way, Tsunade had no evidence to prove the young woman wrong.

"Stop," pleaded Hani with a shuddered breath.

Tsunade ended the jutsu and pulled her hand away. "Fine, I have no choice but to believe you," she said as she placed her right hand on the bed and leaned over Hani's blushing face. "But I find it difficult to swallow that a Hachi woman actually grew a heart and did something as decent as to risk her life to save a friend."

"My grandmother has a heart," said Hani while she did her best to show she wasn't intimidated by Tsunade staring her down.

Tsunade frowned at the mention of one of her beloved mentors, "Your grandmother is different. She was always a noble woman." Her eyes narrowed, "No … I see a lot of your mother in you. When I look into your eyes, I see her staring back at me with her smug face."

Hani brought her arms up to her chest defensively, "I'm the granddaughter of one of your teachers and the daughter of another … we even share a grandfather … do you really believe I could be such a horrible person?"

"No," said Tsunade softly after a long moment of consideration. She sat up and crossed her arms, "An insolent brat with a lack of respect for my authority perhaps, but not a horrible person. And that's why I have been as lenient on the laws of your clan as I have been. By now, you should already have a daughter old enough to start ninja training."

Hani's jaw dropped at the thought.

"However, I've seen firsthand what your clan laws can do to someone who is unwilling and I don't want you to become your mother. I think your father felt the same way and that's why he's let you live your life the way you've wanted up until his death. But some of those laws are there to protect you, Hani - not hurt you. And if I have any reason to suspect you might be in violation of them, then it is my responsibility as your Hokage to remove you from active duty. There are reasons we don't assign couples on the same mission – they may feel the need to risk their lives for each other needlessly. I hope you understand that."

"I do," said Hani with a small, cautious nod. She knew all too well that Dan, Tsunade's beloved, had sacrificed himself to save the medic-nin.

"Good." Tsunade glanced at the clock on the wall, "Damnit, is that the time? I haven't even started my rounds." She looked back at Hani who was still watching her like a scared kitten who was backed into a corner. "Shizune will be handling your treatments for the next week. After I've evaluated you, we'll put you through another stress test."

"Another one?" balked Hani.

The older woman rolled her eyes, "Yes, another one."

Hani reached out to her, "I will pay you _good money_ to keep me from having to do it a second time."

"_Tempting_, but no. Regardless of whether or not you respect my decisions, its hospital policy and it's for your own good."

"Tsunade," said Hani, her voice full of desperation. "If you must make me run it again, please, for the love of the gods, let me borrow one of your support bras."

The older, bustier woman laughed at the request. "I suppose I could have that arranged if it would cut down on the whining next time." She walked to the door, but paused before opening it. "It's funny," she said as she looked off to the side. "For a minute there, I actually believed you had developed feelings for _the_ Maito Gai." She shook her head and chuckled softly at the absurdity of her suspicions before leaving the room and letting the door fall closed behind her.

Hani fell back into her bed with a 'thud' and a huge sigh of relief. She would be damned if she were to admit out loud that Tsunade intimidated the hell out of her and telling the woman a flat-out lie to her face was anything but easy. But she couldn't tell her the truth – especially when Hani could barely acknowledge that truth herself.

It was then that a faint breeze blew in through the open window and carried the scent of lilies throughout her room. Hani turned her head and spotted the flowers that were left for her. She grinned sweetly as she admired the bouquet - there was only one person who would have left her such a gift.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Thank you, for reading!<strong>_


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

* * *

><p>"Gai-senseeeeeeeei?!" cried Tenten. The burning sensation in her thighs erupted with each branch she leapt to, and if her overzealous teacher didn't allow for them to take a break soon, the chances of her face-planting into a tree trunk would become a very likely possibility. "Gai-sensei?! Could we <em>please<em> rest for a bit?! My legs are killing me!"

"Tenten," laughed Lee. "You lack discipline. Pain is your body telling you that you need to train more."

"Say that again, Lee," threatened Tenten. "And a stray kunai will find itself in the back of your head."

He laughed, "But you always hit 100 out of 100 targets, Tenten!"

Her eyes narrowed, "Exactly." She stole a look at the dark-haired jounin who led their team, "Gai-sensei? Can you hear me?"

Gai sighed, "Neji?"

The boy's extraordinary eyes scanned the area, "This is as good a spot as any."

"Very well," said Gai as he landed safely on the ground. He surveyed the clearing, "We'll stop here for a 15 minute break."

Tenten was already sitting on the ground and peeling off her gloves. "Only 15 minutes?!" she took out a handkerchief and started wiping the back of her neck. She glanced over at her teammate who was taking a drink from a water canteen. "Neji," she whispered as she tilted her head for him to approach closer.

He walked to her side and handed her the bottle, "What is it?"

"Have you noticed Gai-sensei acting strangely today?" she asked softly.

"Distracted perhaps."

"This mission is very important, Tenten," said Lee just loud enough for the three of them to hear. "I am sure his attitude is due to him taking it very seriously."

Tenten frowned while taking a swig of water and watched Gai walk to the edge of the clearing and pull out a map from his vest pocket. Usually the man pushed his team to their limits, but he would always offer them words of encouragement and the occasional rest-stop. Today, however, he seemed to be more determined than ever. "He's been moody since he returned from that S-ranked mission a while ago," she said softly.

Neji considered her observation, "That sounds about right."

"Maybe something bad happened?" asked Tenten as she looked between the two boys. "Have either of you heard anything about the mission?"

"It was S-ranked, Tenten. Only those who were involved in the mission are allowed to know that information," replied Lee.

"I can confirm he was injured," said Neji nonchalantly.

Tenten was taken aback, "How do you know that?"

"Aside from various lacerations and a mended rib that looked to have healed poorly before being properly treated, he has been favoring his right foot since he returned. I am able to see with my byakugan that he sustained serious burns – probably from an electrical discharge based on the burn patterns and the fact that he is highly resistant to fire due to his chakra nature."

Lee nodded, "I could tell Gai-sensei was favoring his foot too, but I did not know why."

Tenten looked between the two. She hadn't noticed Gai was walking any differently than usual, but she suspected that was because both Lee and Neji were more taijutsu based than she and were trained to analyze their opponent's stance or gait in order to find any weakness. "He's been injured on a mission before – but that's never slowed him down. Why is this any different?"

"Maybe he was not the only one who was wounded?" asked Lee.

"Or the mission was a failure," stated Neji coolly.

The hair visibly stood on the back of Lee's neck, "Neji, Gai-sensei would never fail at a mission!"

"I didn't mean anything by it," said Neji who raised his palm in a gesture of peace. "But something might have happened outside of his control."

Tenten crossed her arms in contemplation, "Was he the only one assigned to the mission?"

"Again, it was an S-ranked mission, Tenten. We have no way of knowing," said Lee.

"Ugh, you two are no good at gossip," sighed Tenten in frustration.

Lee shrugged, "You could always ask him. He said if we have any team concerns that we should bring it to his attention immediately."

Tenten looked between Lee and Neji and seeing no argument in either of their expressions she stepped forward. "Gai-sensei?" she called.

The jounin's eyes didn't leave the map, "Yes, Tenten?"

She placed her hands on her hips in defiance, "You have been moody since we left Konoha, and you've been pushing us like a slave driver - eh, at least, more than usual." She looked to her comrades behind her before returning her stare to the back of Gai's head. "So, we want to know if there is something wrong." Tenten's resolve began to crumble seconds after she was finished talking. She was expecting for Gai to spin around with this hands in the air and tears streaming down his face, all the while blurting out some overemotional apology for having worried his precious students. But instead, his only reaction was the slight drop of his shoulders and a long, deep sigh.

"I'm sorry to have worried you three," he said as he lowered the map. "I'm on edge because I was in the middle of something important back at Konoha and I had to leave suddenly because of this mission. Though my duty as a shinobi of Konoha and being your sensei are two of the most important things in my life, I had made a promise and it bothers me greatly not being able to keep it." He turned to Tenten and the look in his expression made her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. She had only seen that expression on her usually jovial sensei once before, and that was when they had learned the severity of Lee's injuries after he had been examined by Tsunade for the first time.

"Someone got hurt, didn't they?" asked Tenten softly as her teammates moved to either side of her.

"That is correct," answered Gai as he tried in futility to fold the map neatly. "A friend and comrade of mine put herself in harm's way to protect me from a blow that should have killed me. It nearly cost her her life, and I promised I would be there to offer my support during her rehabilitation." He grunted in frustration before shoving the now crumbled map into a vest pocket.

Gai's words were not lost to his teammates. "Her?" the three asked in unison.

Their sensei looked confused by their question, "Yes, 'her'. She is a woman after all."

Two sets of brown eyes and one set of white eyes looked at each other incredulously. The three genin knew Maito Gai had friends who were women - or at least "acquaintances" that were of the feminine persuasion like Kurenai and Anko, but he had never spoken of them in a direct and concerned manner before. In addition, for someone to put themselves in the way of a killing blow at nearly the cost of their own life told the three students that this woman must have been a very close friend of their teacher's. And if she was as important to Gai as she appeared to be, then they should be concerned for her too.

"Is she going to be alright?" asked Tenten gently.

Gai wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his arm, "Tsunade-sama has assured me that she would recover. But I would feel more comfortable if I saw it with my own eyes."

"If the Hokage-sama says she will be fine, then she will be," said Neji calmly. "When it comes to medical prowess, The Fifth is unmatched in this world." But the man who always appeared to be looking forward continued to stare solemnly at the ground; the Hyuuga's words falling on deft ears. He had made a promise and his students new their sensei was a man of his word. If he couldn't come through on his promise, they feared what his self-imposed punishment would ultimately be.

Tenten quickly stepped forward and took the map from Gai's pocket before he could protest. "Neji, use your byakugan and see if Taga Pass is open."

"Right," said Neji as the veins began to bulge on the sides of his face.

Tenten unfolded the map delicately and surveyed their route. "Lee, go refresh our water canteens. We'll need them to be full if we want to avoid having to take as many rest stops."

"Roger!" saluted Lee as he grabbed the containers and ran to find a fresh spring.

Gai looked down at his pupil, a bit surprised at her ability to take command so easily. "Tenten?" he asked softly.

The girl smiled, "It's okay, Gai-sensei. We'll try to get you back home as soon as possible." She gave him a wink and a small thumbs-up, "A promise is a promise."

Glad to see he had been able to teach his students more than just taijutsu, a grin crept over the jounin's face. "Thank you very much," he said gratefully.

* * *

><p>"Tsunade said you failed the endurance test."<p>

Hani covered her mouth and swallowed her food before speaking, "I was able to run the full distance, but the test results showed that the scar tissue was making my heart work harder than it needs to." She took a piece of sweet potato from her lunch with her chopsticks. "It's nothing, Grandma. You know Tsunade, she's just being overly cautious."

The white-haired, outwardly youthful-appearing woman who sat on the end of Hani's bed leaned back against the footboard. "A heart attack is hardly nothing," she said in a soft, musical voice.

Hani nearly choked on her food. "Damn that Tsunade," she coughed. "I told her not to tell you!"

The older woman closed her eyes and smiled as she reached behind her and took the clipboard from the end of Hani's bed. "She didn't have to. You forget I have been a doctor for many decades, Little One."

Knowing she didn't have a leg to stand on, Hani held her tongue as her grandmother looked over the paperwork.

A young nurse leaned in through the doorway of Hani's room, "Madame Tenmei-sama? Your patient is early. I told her to wait for you while you finished up here."

"Ah, she is always early. Thank you," smiled the white-haired woman. She returned her attention to the clipboard. "They will be discharging you tomorrow with strict instructions to return for treatment."

Hani nodded in understanding.

"Shizune is very talented," praised Tenmei after reading the report further. "I feel better knowing you are in her hands for those treatments."

"Good," said Hani. She looked down at her chest and lightly rubbed the pink, healing scar tissue. "While she is at it, I'll ask her to take care of this too."

Tenmei placed her elbow on the top of the footboard and gracefully rested her head on a closed fist. "She will likely not do anything for it."

Hani's shot her grandmother a confused look, "Why on earth not?"

"For one, it would be considered cosmetic, and there is a strict rule that medical-nin are not to use resources for cosmetic reasons." After noticing the downward look on her granddaughter's face, Tenmei quickly offered some hope. "However, there is no policy against a medic-nin doing it in their own free time and at the cost of the patient. You could always ask Shizune, and if she is willing, she is one of the most skillful people available for the job, besides Tsunade."

Hani rubbed the tender flesh over her chest again, "What about you, Grandma? Would you be willing?"

Tenmei pursed her lips as she took a long breath through her nose. The truth of the matter was that there was nothing that could be done, save using some forbidden jutsu, for the scar tissue on Hani's chest and back. If the wound was still fresh, then possibly. But after a few weeks worth of healing, it was far too late to do anything about it now. However, the scar tissue on her heart was a different matter - that organic material was very different from a person's skin and it could potentially be manipulated with a chakra scalpel and other therapy. But cutting away at scar tissue on the skin would only leave more scarring. Though it could be decreased some, it could never be returned to a pristine condition.

"I'm afraid my chakra control isn't what it used to be. I wouldn't feel comfortable with something so important to you," said Tenmei not able to bring herself to tell her granddaughter the truth.

Hani traced a finger over the thick line between her breasts one last time, "There isn't anything that can be done for it is there, Grandma?"

Tenmei lifted her head off her hand slightly in surprise. "Was I that obvious?" she asked with a small, proud grin. "Or have you gotten that much better at reading people?"

"I guess the latter," chuckled Hani. "Though, you stating that your chakra control is subpar - you couldn't have honestly thought I would fall for that one, did you?"

"Haha!" laughed Tenmei lightly. "I suppose I can't use the 'old woman' excuse for everything, can I?" Her smile widened, "How did you learn to read people so well, Little One?"

Hani gave her a good-humored smile, "From you, of course."

Tenmei's smile widened, "That's true. However, with all of my experience in reading the behaviors and hidden intentions of people, there is one thing I haven't been able to figure out."

Hani placed her chopsticks on the side of her plate, "Oh? What would that be?"

Placing her head back on her hand, Tenmei asked her next question carefully, "Why did you step in front of the sword to protect that man?" She nodded at her granddaughter's mortified expression, "Yes, Tsunade did indeed tell me that as well."

"I," said Hani with a moment of consideration for her answer. "I didn't want for the mission to be a failure. It's our clan's laws that we must do everything within our power to ensure that a mission does not fail."

The older woman nodded, "That's true. But by the point in which you were stabbed, the mission was already over. There would have been no failure if you had let the jounin get stabbed instead of you."

Feeling the unwavering, purple gaze of her grandmother, Hani fought the need to fidget nervously. She knew that every uneven breath she took, every idle motion of her body, speaking in a tone a bit higher or lower than normal, or even the direction her eyes looked when she spoke would be a glaring tell her grandmother would pick up on immediately. Lying to this woman was nearly impossible and could only be done by someone who made no uncalculated movements, and was able to devoid themselves of all emotion.

When Hani was a child, she would always confess when she was in trouble. She learned early that her grandmother would be lenient if she told the truth - using positive reinforcement to encourage her to be honest again in the future. By the time Hani was 12, she had already been taught extensively on how to identify another person's tells. With that knowledge, she has been able to modify her own technique and be able to pass a lie to just about anyone. But never in her entire lifetime, has she been able to tell a lie to her grandmother. All the woman need do was ask the question and regardless of what the person said, Tenmei would already have her answer. Hani was simply grateful that her grandmother had asked her an open-ended question that left her room for interpretation.

"I guess I was being a reckless fool," she said looking down at her hands as she ran the fingers of one over the other.

Tenmei tilted her head, "Interesting."

"I knew that if we didn't get the sword away from the samurai, then we were both dead." She sighed in defeat, "And I played the odds - I hoped that he wouldn't hit me in a vital area, and I would be able to use my crystal technique to secure the sword away from him so my partner could finish him off." She frowned, "I rolled the dice and luck didn't favor me." She noticed the slight narrowing of her grandmother's eyes. "And even though the mission turned out to be a complete farce, if my partner and I were both killed, no one would have been the wiser. If at least one of us survived, then the story of what happened would be shared, and our reputation wouldn't be ruined."

The older woman watched her for a moment before looking down at the clipboard. "I suppose that is an acceptable answer," she said with a smile. "I'll be sure to inform Tsunade that she has nothing further to worry about."

Hani resisted the urge to sigh in relief at Tenmei's response. She hadn't lied to her grandmother - only told her part of the truth. And Hani knew her grandmother was aware of that fact. But the older woman was satisfied with her answer ... for now. And fortunately Tsunade knew all too well Tenmei's ability to identify lies and would believe whatever the elderly woman told her.

Tenmei stood and placed the clipboard back on the foot of the bed, "Be sure to eat the rest of your meal, Little One. Your body has been through a great deal, and needs the nourishment." She leaned forward and placed a light kiss on Hani's forehead, "I will be back to pick you up tomorrow and help you get settled back into your apartment."

"Yes, Grandma," smiled Hani as she took the hand that lovingly caressed her cheek.

Tenmei grinned, "That's a good dear." She stroked the side of Hani's face with her thumb one last time before turning to leave. "By the way, those white lilies are beautiful," said Tenmei as she indicated the flowers next to Hani's window.

"Oh, yes they are," smiled Hani a bit awkwardly. "I'm not sure who brought them, though. They were here when I woke up after the endurance test."

"Lilium candidum," said Tenmei softly. "They represent chastity and purity. Either an innocent gift, or one of the purest feelings." She looked at her granddaughter, "A shame you do not know who gifted them to you. I'm sure it would mean a great deal to them to hear your thanks." She smiled again before bowing her head slightly, "Good afternoon, Little One."

"Bye Grandma," grinned Hani, grateful her grandmother chose _not_ to hang around to further analyze the presence of flowers in her room. It wasn't until both her room and the hall outside of her door had grown quiet before she stepped out of her bed. She cringed at the chills that were sent up her feet from the cold tiled floors of the hospital. Standing fully erect, Hani stretched her hands high above her head, ignoring the pop of protest from her left shoulder - the one her mother had dislocated so long ago that had always been a bit too loose since that incident. She then bent forward, bringing her head as far forward as she could. She could tell her muscles had tightened since she had become injured by Oda. Bringing her forehead to her knees had only ever been limited by her overly-abundant bosom, but now the muscles on the back of her legs were unrelenting. She twisted and turned - using the window's sill as a dancer's barre to bring her legs up one at a time and work on unraveling her muscles.

The hospital outfit she wore, with it's simple cotton, short-cropped pants, and loose, v-neck, long-sleeved shirt, was hideous. And the rough material made her skin itch. But it offered a fair amount of freedom with her movements. And despite her small frame, her bust required her shirt to be two sizes too large in order for it to accommodate her "special needs". As a result, her arms were practically swimming in their sleeves; but the added length helped keep her hands warm amidst the drafty hospital.

After a few minutes into her usual routine, Hani glanced over at the flowers again. Only this time, instead of seeing a simple bouquet, she looked at them with the eye her Grandmother might have. To Hani, one who had only received flowers from people who knew her under an assumed identity, never thought to look further into the meaning of what those flowers meant. They were never meant for her - just a person whom she pretended to be.

She was aware of and had been taught about hanakotoba, the language of flowers, but she had never had a reason to think too much about it. She was watchful of the flowers she received that may have represented hostility like yellow roses, or orange lilies. But she never gave much thought to the other flowers she received.

Usually she would be gifted roses - red, white, pink. Even a yellow tulip, or red camellia. But she could safely say, this was the first time she had ever received white lilies. And this was the first time that Hani, as herself, had been given a bouquet as well.

She smiled thoughtfully as she leaned into the flowers and smelled lightly at their scent. She knew with all certainty that it was Gai who had brought those flowers for her. And given that fact, Hani also suspected that Gai had gone into the local flower shop and was talked into buying whichever flowers were about to pass their shelf life. Hani also guessed that the concept of flowers having hidden meanings was more than likely entirely foreign to him. So any potential meaning the flowers might have was probably unintended.

Carefully, Hani brought a finger to one of the petals and stroked its fuzzy, top layer gently. Strangely, it reminded her of him and the soft, tender parts of his body that was relatively hairless, like the inside of his arms, the space between his collarbones, and the area just below his ears where it had been her lips that discovered that smoothness.

Hani closed her eyes and sighed in shame as she thought back on the night the two of them had first shared a bed, if only briefly. She didn't regret having been with him intimately. That part she had actually thoroughly enjoyed. Their physical chemistry was ridiculous and she had never been brought to such a height of ecstasy with another man. On their return home, she yearned - almost itched, to experience it again. The times he would carry her to their next stop left her weakened. Not from the exertion of the trip, but from being so close to him; smelling his scent and feeling the rippling muscles under her as she wrapped her arms and legs around his neck and waist.

The morning they spent together before returning to Konoha left her aching more than she could bear. She wanted to touch him and for him to do the same to her. She loved hearing Gai, the strongest man she had ever met, illicit such strong reactions to her every touch. A gasp here; a faint growl there. It was like petting a wild beast that was on the brink of tackling it's tamer out of hunger. She had never felt more in control and she had become drunk on that power. Feeling him quake under her and try to rein in his passion to keep from hurting her only fueled her desires more. She had never been with a man who was so attentive - so thoughtful of her needs and wants. Even the man she had lost her virginity to, though a family friend and someone Hani was very fond of, didn't seem to be as attuned to her as Gai was. And though Hani's mind and spirit were willing amidst the shared warmth of the inn's worn-out bed, her injured body simply wasn't.

No, her regret of their first night together was due to how she had reacted. She had fled from him. Escaped from his warmth and ran out into the cold night where the autumn wind stung her tear-streaked cheeks. She had been terrified of the feelings that were welling up inside of her in that moment. Gai had ruined her. His damnable bowl haircut, caterpillar eyebrows, and annoying sparkling smile had wormed it's way into some recess of her heart and lit the parts she thought to be dead like they were dry kindling. It had always been easy for her to shut out the idea of any romance in her life given her history with men. Her experiences with Nishin alone would be excuse enough for her to turn away from men for the rest of her life. Even Konoha treated her as less than a human. To the village authority she was a trained spy, and a killer. A tool used as a means to an end.

But Gai had treated her like she was a person - someone who had needs, wants, and dreams. Before, Hani believed she would continue through life as a kunoichi, using seduction until menopause would force her into retirement. She then figured she would live out the rest of her life trying to assimilate back into society and pretend that she wasn't a husk of a person who was incapable of feeling. It wasn't much of an existence, but it was one that was expected of ninja who were trained killers. Ones whose eyes stare straight through your core and have lost all traces of an inner light.

The first night Gai and Hani had spent together, Hani realized that she didn't want for any other man to touch her ever again. Like finding out you have been eating a dish prepared the wrong way for years, or worn the most comfortable shirt you have in your entire life; why on earth would you want anything else? If your state of mind in every sexual experience with a man was, 'Just get through this'. Why would you want for anything differently when you finally have an experience that made you think, 'God, I hope this never ends'? That is why Gai corrupted her - brining her to panic and ultimately flee the scene. Every encounter with another man from this point forward would be absolute torture, because she knew it could be so much better if only she was with _him_.

Hani patted the petal lightly and observed how fast it sprung back. Perhaps it wasn't as near its shelf life as she had suspected? If that was the case, then it's possible the flower shop had too many white lilies in stock, and they were pushing to sell them to make room for other flowers. It was, after all, also the flower one would place on tombstones to symbolize rebirth. So there was never any shortage of white lilies in a shinobi village. Hani brought her finger up to her chin in consideration. The flower shop was owned by the Yamanakas. A clan who knew their flowers well - so much so, their clan symbol was the bush clover flower. Hani would occasionally visit the shop to drop off a few rare flowers plucked from the Hachi clan garden that the shop had commissioned. And though she never purchased flowers there, the employees did seem to be very knowledgeable on which flowers were best suited for the occasion. So, it's possible they did help Gai pick these flowers out. 'Either an innocent gift, or one of the purest feelings'. Her grandmother's words rang in her ears, bringing her cheeks to blush.

Hani covered her face and stood up as she shook her head out of bewilderment. She cursed inwardly at the faint fluttering in her stomach. 'I'm not some child,' she thought. 'Why am I acting so silly? Gai probably just bought the flowers because they were on sale, and that's all.' She took a long breath, steadying her nerves. "Don't read too much into it, Hani," she whispered to herself. But after a few silent moments, she dropped her hands slowly. "Speaking of which," she said softly. "I haven't seen him all day."

Normally Gai was in the hospital 10 minutes before visitation to pester the staff into letting him in early. After visiting Hani for a hour he would leave to train. He would then return again in the evening and plead with the staff to let him stay just a bit longer past visitation. When he visited they would talk about simple things like Gai's team, or life at the academy when he was young. Or Gai would come into her room and plop down on the visitor's chair and pout about losing some challenge he had with the Copy-Ninja Kakashi Hatake.

But they didn't just talk about Gai, they would also discuss different aspects about her life. Gai was interested in learning about her and would ask questions about her interests, hobbies, childhood, etc. When he would ask her to tell him more about herself, she'd often respond with, "Oh, you don't want to hear about that." To which he would enthusiastically insist that he was, in fact, very interested. It was so foreign to her to be able to share her life with someone else so openly. She had been use to pretending to be someone else for so long, she had to stop herself from getting fiction mixed up with fact when recalling different facets of her life.

Hani noted Gai sidestepped questions about her past while working at Nishin's brothel. Which was probably for the best. It wasn't something she liked to talk about, and she couldn't imagine it was something Gai would want to hear about either. He knew that she had a history there and he had a general idea on what went on, and that was probably more information than he wanted to know.

Hani sat on the edge of her bed and looked out her window. 'I hope he's alright,' she thought. 'Could he have been called away on a mission?' It was certainly possible, but who could she ask that would be safe?

In response, there was a faint knock on her door causing Hani to jump slightly. "Come in," she said, knowing it wasn't Gai. When that man knocked on a door, he did it so hard, the acorns that had dropped from the tree that door was made of shuddered.

"Good afternoon, Hani-san," came a polite voice.

Hani turned to see a tall, brunette kunoichi coming through the doorway. "Good afternoon, Shizune-san. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Shizune, who was carrying a hefty stack of files sat them down on the end table roughly before slumping down on the edge of her bed. "Phew," she sided. "What a busy day it has been. Tsunade-sama has given me most of her workload." She brushed a hand through her hair to fix a few stray strands, "I'm here for your first treatment."

Hani looked at the woman thoughtfully. Though she had never known Shizune well, they had crossed paths a few times as children and she had always been kind to Hani. She was sweet, loyal, and talented; but quick to complain. "I'm sorry to be a trouble, Shizune-san. Would you like to hide out here for a while to relax? I'm not in any rush to start the treatment."

"Oh, bless you," sighed Shizune as she leaned against Hani's footboard and covered her eyes with the crook of her arm.

"Do you want some tea biscuits?" asked Hani as she handed Shizune the tin her grandmother had brought her. "There are a couple left - my grandma made them and she's an amazing cook."

Shizune smiled gratefully and took a proffered cookie, "Bless you again."

"My pleasure," smiled Hani. In all honesty, her motives were not entirely unselfish. She didn't want the one to be performing her chakra heart surgery to be frazzled and emaciated. "So, Shizune, is this treatment dangerous?" she asked cautiously.

"Oh, absolutely," said Shizune as she munched on a biscuit. "If the chakra scalpel is a little too much one way or the other, it will destroy the valve all together causing a massive heart attack. You'd be dead in about two minutes." She waved dismissively, "But you'll be fine. That would only happen if the one doing the treatment doesn't know what they're doing."

Hani's eyes were already twice their normal size by now at Shizune's deadpan response. A weak "Oh," was all she managed to say.

Suddenly noticing the blonde's distress, Shizune quickly swallowed her food and interjected her next statement, "You'll be perfectly fine. I've done this procedure a number of times and the scarring on your valve is very superficial. We scheduled 5 treatments, but I'm pretty confident I could fix it in 3, if not 2."

"Oh, thank goodness," said Hani a bit more relieved.

Shizune patted her on the knee, "Don't worry, I'll take good care of you."

"I appreciate it," said Hani with a small bow. She considered her next question and how to word it very carefully, "Shizune, I wanted to be sure Maito Gai had all of the facts straight for the report on our mission, but I haven't see him today. Did he get assigned a mission?"

"Yes, he did. Tsunade-sama wanted him and his team to find a missing courier ninja. They could be gone for days. I'm sure Tsunade-sama won't mind the report being a bit late given the circumstances."

Hani sighed in relief.

"Well, we might as well get started," said Shizune who stood and brushed off any crumbs from her clothes.

"What do you need me to do?" asked Hani.

"Lie down and make yourself comfortable. This will probably take around 15 minutes."

Hani pulled up the blankets of her bed and pulled them up to her waist. She then laid back against her pillow and willed her limbs to not shake from anxiety.

Shizune noticed her uneasiness, "Would you like a mild sedative?"

"Oh, I don't think that's necessary," said Hani with a small smile. "I just need to relax."

"Okay, but it's extremely important that you don't move suddenly. This procedure is a bit like trying to clip the wings of a fairy dancing on the head of a pin."

Hani wanted more than anything to tell the brunette kunoichi that she wasn't helping, but she thought better of it. "My grandmother said she had confidence in you, so I will too."

Shizune froze, "Madame Tenmei-sama said that?" She grinned brightly, "I'm so glad!"

Hani closed her eyes and chuckled lightly at her renewed enthusiasm. After a few moments, she heard Shizune speak, "I will begin." And with that, Hani felt a warm palm press gently on her sternum, and the tingling sensation of Shizune's chakra creeping into her system. It was an odd sensation - not exactly unpleasant, but definitely not good either. If Hani had to compare it to anything, it felt as if a spider had crawled its way into one of her heart's valves and was twiddling away at some chore. The thought of that imagery would have made Hani shudder if wasn't for the fear that such a reaction might come at the expense of her life.

It wasn't until 14 minutes had passed and Hani had finally adjusted to the treatment that something happened. Shizune was just in the process of dissipating her chakra when Hani felt a sensation in her chest like her heart had dropped to the pit of her stomach. It was so sudden and startling that the wind was knocked out of her. "Guh!"

"Hani!" called Shizune as she roared her healing chakra back into the woman out of fear of a second heart attack.

For just a flash, Hani's perception was in a different place. Where she had originally been lying on a hospital bed, she was now floating in a pool of murky water. The sky was gray, with a roaring, angry storm that stretched from one horizon to the next. Hani only had a moment to see her surroundings before a dark, necrotic hand reached up from the water at her side, wrapped itself around her chest and wrenched her down into the water in one quick stroke. The next instant, Hani came to in her room, screaming and pushing Shizune's arm off of her, and rolling off the bed to the floor.

"Hani!" called Shizune as she hurried around the bed to the frantic woman. "It's alright, it's alright!"

Scared and confused, Hani's eyes searched wildly around the room, then shifted to the startled hospital staff that rushed the doorway.

"Is everything alright?" shouted one of the orderlies.

"Yes, everything is fine. Sorry to startle you," said Shizune in a calm tone. She knelt down to Hani and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "You're okay, Hani. You're safe. You just had a really strong heart palpitation - your heart skipped a beat and that made you black out for a second, but it's okay."

Trembling, Hani looked up at the dark eyes of the kunoichi who knelt next to her.

The nightmares had returned.


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

* * *

><p>"Agh, you damned fool!" screamed Hidama at the short, round, middle-aged man who tended to her wounds. "You are suppose to heal me, not make my injuries worse with your snake-oils!" she screamed.<p>

The doctor ignored the bead of sweat that was building on his brow as he gently bound the exposed wound that lined the woman from her ankle, to the highest point of her forehead, "I'm sorry Madam, but electrical burns are very hard to treat. And these are very bad."

"Then use your chakra to heal them already!" she yelled.

"I-I'm sorry, Madam, but I've already said that I'm not a chakra healer. I'm a surgeon."

Hidama sneered as she placed a clawed hand to his face and pushed him to the ground, "Then you are worthless to me!" She wrenched in her bed from the pain, "Damn that Iho to hell for doing this to me!" she cried.

The man groveled next to her. He had no idea what had happened to the soldiers of the army or the young lord he once served, but this woman had the entire fleet under her control. He feared for his life if he were to anger her further. "Madam, you must rest and let your body recover. The more you move, the longer it will take for your wounds to heal."

Without looking at him, Hidama pointed a clawed hand at the doctor. "Get him out of my sight and have him tend to the woman!" she yelled.

Silently and obediently, a set of samurai soldiers came forward and grabbed the arms of the man and carried him from the room. He didn't resist - at least the other patient he had been able to treat successfully thus far.

Hidama brought a shaky hand to her forehead and wiped at the sweat that had formed there from the excruciating pain. Even after 10 days, the pain still hadn't improved. "I need that woman alive," she said breathlessly. "She has the ability to heal me." Her head shot to the side and she glared at the man once known as Miyake. "If that doctor let's her die, throw him overboard. _Do you understand_?!"

The man nodded; his face emotionless, "Yes, My Queen."

* * *

><p>Hani flipped the business card in her hand and read its text for what had to be the twentieth time.<p>

_Dr. Hiro Yamanaka, Specialist in Cognitive Therapy_

Despite Hani's wishes, Shizune had handed her this card after her fit the day prior. "Dr. Hiro is an excellent therapist," she had said. "He specializes in nightmares - I think he could really help you."

"It's really not that serious," responded Hani. "Blacking out - it happened so suddenly that it startled me. I thought it was reality for a second." She let her eyes fall to the ground and spoke her next words softly, "That's why I overreacted."

Shizune brought her pencil to Hani's file and started jotting down notes. "Is this the first nightmare you've had recently?"

Hani looked between the dancing pencil and its author, "No, I've had a few before today - but who doesn't?"

"Have you had similar dreams since the incident?" asked Shizune as she brought the eraser to her chest and tapped on her sternum to indicate Hani's injury.

Hani folded her arms and sighed, "A few". She frowned and looked away at the sight of Shizune making more notes.

"Has anything helped you sleep, or have less nightmares?"

"No," she said flatly. "Some nights I have them, others I don't. I'm sure that going to bed having eaten spicy food would probably exacerbate them. But otherwise, there appears to be no rhyme or reason to them." It wasn't until after she had spoken that she allowed herself to acknowledge the truth that there was in fact something that had helped her sleep at night and it had been having Gai by her side.

"Well, it's not unusual for someone to have nightmares after an ordeal like what you've been through. I could prescribe you some medication to help you sleep at night, but I really do think it wouldn't hurt for you to see Dr. Hiro. He is a pioneer in his field and he's helped numerous shinobi suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder."

"PTSD? I don't think it's that serious, Shizune-san. I've had nightmares in the past, ones that hang around for a few weeks, but they always fade with time. I'm sure it will be the same in this case. And to be honest, I'm really not comfortable with the idea of a Yamanaka rooting around in my mind and airing my dirty laundry. There are things locked up in there that I'd like to keep that way."

Shizune chuckled, "I can understand that. Would you prefer the sleeping pills then? If you're confident the nightmares will improve on their own, the medication should help that along."

Hani looked at the ground and sighed as she considered the question. "Sure, I guess it couldn't hurt."

And there she sat today on the end of her hospital bed; her personal effects in a plastic bag by her side and the vase of lilies in her other hand.

"Good morning, Little One," grinned the matronly woman who gracefully passed the threshold of Hani's room donning a gorgeous teal kimono. "Have you been waiting long?"

Hani immediately shoved the business card in her bag, "Not at all, Grandma."

"Good," grinned Tenmei as she moved her cane to one hand and held out the other for Hani to rise and join her. "Let's get you home," she said with a gentle pat to her granddaughter's back.

"I'll be happy to get back to my apartment and wear some real clothes," sighed Hani in relief.

"Yes," chuckled Tenmei as she straightened the large, long-sleeved shirt Hani was wearing. "At the very least clothes that fit."

"Do you have any patients to see today, Grandma?" asked Hani as they walked slowly down the hall; the gentle "tok" of Tenmei's cane marking their pace in an audible cadence that echoed off the walls.

"Just one," smiled the older woman as she used the arm around Hani's shoulders to hug her tighter.

The corners of Hani's mouth turned upwards, "Thank you, Grandma."

Tenmei smiled at her and ran her hand gently over the back of Hani's hair, "Of course, Little One." She was about to speak again before a nurse called out to them both.

"Oh, excuse me!" came the high-pitched voice of the morning-shift nurse. "Sorry to bother you," huffed the young woman. "But Shizune-san asked me to be sure you got this prescription before you left the hospital."

Hani felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. "Oh, th-thank you," she said sheepishly as she took the little white baggy the woman held out.

"Read the directions on the bottle and if you have any questions, you be sure to ask Shizune-san," said the nurse in her best commanding voice.

"Yes, I understand," said Hani through gritted-teeth, trying not to sound too irritated.

"Okay, well - have a nice day!" beamed the nurse bright enough that both Hachi women winced in return.

As the nurse turned to leave, Hani hurriedly placed the medication in her bag before tying it closed again. "Ready to go?" she said a bit too quickly.

"What is that a prescription for?" asked Tenmei calmly.

Hani felt her stomach tighten, "Just a little something to help me sleep. That's all."

"Let me see it."

Hani instinctually pulled the bag away from her. "It's personal," she snapped.

Tenmei's eyebrows lifted ever-so-slightly and she stood and watched Hani silently for a single moment.

Just one long pause.

One painfully, agonizing pause.

Hani counted six dreadful heartbeats that throbbed in her ears in that moment as she stared up into her grandmother's eyes and watched the woman's pupils dilate and contract a number of times; like a camera lens zooming in on each detail the photographer found interesting on the subject before them. Tenmei was an extremely calculated woman and the only thing that relayed the mass of computations that went on in her head was the subtle movement that went on in her large, purple eyes.

Hani knew her reaction was probably uncalled for and she had immediately regretted it, but it was far too late to take it back now.

"I'm sorry, Hani. I didn't mean to pry," said Tenmei with a sweet smile.

Hani immediately noted how her grandmother had referred to her by her name, "No, I'm sorry Grandma. I shouldn't have been so rude." She looked down in shame, "I'm just antsy to get back to my apartment is all."

"I understand," said the older woman. She looped her arm around Hani's and led them both down the hall. "It's been a long time since I've seen your apartment," she said sweetly. "Do you still have that lovely view of the Hokage Mountain?"

"Oh, that was my last apartment," answered Hani. "I moved from there a few months ago."

"You did?" said Tenmei a bit surprised. "Where did you move to?"

Hani waited until they had cleared the exit door of the hospital before she answered, "Oak Ridge Apartments."

The sharp turn of Tenmei's head to look at her granddaughter in shock was the fastest Hani had seen the woman move in years, "I'm sorry, Little One, but I must not have heard you correctly. Did you say _Oak Ridge Apartments_?"

Already knowing what her grandmother was thinking, Hani answered cautiously, "That's correct."

"My goodness, Little One. Are you having money trouble? You should have told me. I would have been more than happy to help you if you were in need."

Hani patted the older woman's hand comfortingly, "No, Grandma. I've been busy enough with S-Ranked missions - you know how well those pay."

"Then why live at a place like Oak Ridge Apartments? It's not exactly located in a ... _good_ part of town."

Hani shrugged, "It's not that bad, Grandma. Besides, my missions can take weeks or months to complete. There was no reason for me to live in a fancy, expensive place if I'm never there."

"If all you needed was climate-controlled storage, then I could have made room at the house."

Hani smiled sweetly, "Grandma - really, it's alright."

"...We shall see," replied the silver-haired woman.

The two ladies walked through Konoha, taking extra care to use backstreets so the locals wouldn't see Hani in such a fashion disaster. And after twenty minutes, they arrived at a sublet of town where the walls were covered in graffiti, the shops were rundown, and the roads littered with trash. It didn't take a Konohan citizen to know this area was reserved for the less fortunate. And though it wasn't a large neighborhood, it was without a doubt, one of the roughest in the village.

Tenmei stopped at the sidewalk cross-section. Her eyes looked to the garbage that lined the walkways. A few shops down, a man who probably hadn't bathed in a week, exited a door, turned and unzipped his pants to piss on the wall. She then looked up to the sound of a window opening on the second story of the nearby building and a woman dump a tub of dirty water out onto the street. "Quaint," said Tenmei as she eyed the water's contents that consisted of apple cores, cigarette butts, and brown lettuce.

"This way, Grandma," said Hani as she indicated a narrow alleyway. Hani traversed it cautiously, out of fear that she'd knock over one of the piles of trash that had been mounted on top of a too full garbage bin. She spared a glance over her shoulder to her grandmother and noticed the woman glide through the alleyway with an unimaginable grace - not brushing a single thread of her priceless kimono against a single hazard.

"Here we are," said Hani as they reached the end of the alleyway with its metal door and the number "33" labeling it. She handed her grandmother the lilies and then fumbled for her key in her bag. Just as she gotten hold of her keychain the side door next to them cracked open, releasing the smell of what had to be decade's worth of cigarette-smoke buildup.

"Who goes there?" came a hoarse voice.

"Oh, Mrs. Noriko, it's me, Hani Hachi - your neighbor."

The door opened and a short, squat woman with dirty gray hair and a terrible hunchback came into the doorway. "You're still alive? Heh, I thought you got killed-off in a mission 'er some'then."

Hani stole a glance at her grandmother, "Actually, I was just away on a mission and was injured."

"Hmm," grunted the older woman as she brought a crooked cigarette to her mouth.

"Mrs. Noriko, this is my grandmother, Madame Tenmei Ha-"

"I know who yer grandmother is," grunted the woman. She made a curt bow to Tenmei, "You helped birth my son over 20 years ago."

Tenmei smiled, "That's correct. How is Jun doing?"

The old woman both laughed and hacked at the same time, "Ha! Not living up to his name, thas fer damn sher. I'm surprised you even remember us."

Hani's grandmother smiled, "I never forget a face or a name, Mrs. Noriko." She noted Hani beginning to unlock her door. "What is your son doing these days?"

"Hell if I know. He fail'd his chuunin exams 6 times in a row. I think he's stuck as a genin pushing paper somewhere."

"I see." She looked to the sound of Hani opening her door. "Well, it has been pleasant seeing you again." She gave the woman a polite bow, "I wish you good health."

"Ya, you too, doc," coughed the old woman as she took a step back through her door and slammed it shut.

"She, uh ... mostly keeps to herself," shrugged Hani at the quiet, observant look her grandmother gave her.

"Indeed," grinned Tenmei as they entered Hani's apartment. But her smile soon faded at the sight of the room before her. Hani's elegant furniture, which was sparse, stood out in stark contrast against the peeling, paint-chipped walls. The ceiling of the room was mottled with brown and green stains. Being the bottom apartment of a two story building, Tenmei highly doubted the stains were from rainwater. The whole room smelled of mold and Tenmei feared for both of their safety with the front door closed. The only window in the whole apartment had 4 planters that acted as gravesites for what were probably orchids at one point in time. "I guess I was away for too long," sighed Hani as she took the lilies from her grandmother and sat her things down on a table near the kitchen and looked over the flower pots. "I didn't have anyone to water them."

"Orchids can be quite delicate and unforgiving," said Tenmei as she tried to absorb the scene around her.

"Would you like some tea?" asked Hani as she walked to her small kitchen and took a kettle to the sink.

Despite her fear of the water quality that would come out of a building in this state of dilapidation, Tenmei couldn't bring herself to be rude, "Certainly."

"I have some gyokuro green tea, if you'd like?" asked Hani over the sound of the rushing water.

Knowing gyokuro green tea was some of the highest grade tea one could obtain in Konoha, Tenmei felt it would be a sin to steep it in simple tap water. "Oh, nothing fancy, Little One. Just a sencha or bancha green tea will suffice." When Hani wasn't looking, she took out her handkerchief and laid it out across one of the seat's cushions and sat down on it gently, fearing too much activity would stir mold into the air.

After a few minutes, Hani presented her grandmother with a beautiful teacup on a matching saucer. Tenmei observed the drink and felt it was a fitting metaphor for the current situation, and she could no longer sit idly by, nor bear to bring the cup to her lips. "Hani," she said as she rested the drink on her lap. "I feel very selfish asking this of you..."

Hani's expression immediately turned to concern as she sat on the chair next to her grandmother. "What is it, grandma?"

"Well," sighed Tenmei. "You know I am getting on in years ... and my hip has been giving me more trouble, especially in these autumn months. We've been fortunate enough that this has been a warm fall, but on the colder, winter days my hip will simply lock-up out of the blue." She noted the growing worry in Hani's expression and continued, "I fear the hit to my reputation if I were to fall in the bath and be found there by Mr. Lin or even, heaven forbid, what would happen if there was no one around to help me for too long." She sighed, "I know you value your independence. But ... I would like to ask you if you'd be willing to move back into the house with me. It would give me peace of mind to know that someone would be there to watch over me and help me if I were in any trouble."

"My god, grandma," said Hani as she placed her cup on a side table. "I had no idea you were that worried about living by yourself. I may not be able to be there very much - it really depends on how often I'm on a mission."

"I understand, but having someone there occasionally is better than never at all."

Hani considered her grandmother's request for a few moments before answering, "Of course - of course I'll move in with you if you need me to."

Tenmei sighed in relief - the exact reasoning being lost on Hani. "I am very fortunate to have such a loving granddaughter." She placed her hand on Hani's, "If you'd like, you can stay in the west wing."

Hani's expression perked up, "The west wing? Really?"

"Yes, of course. It will need to be cleaned out as it's only been used for storage since your mother lived there, but I think it will do nicely for you. It has, after all, the nicest view in the house."

"Oh, I don't know about that, grandma. The view from your room on the east wing is beautiful too."

"This is true," nodded Tenmei. "I have always enjoyed the sunrise, but your mother preferred the sunset. Which do you prefer?"

Hani thought about the question for a moment before answering, "I think they're both beautiful, grandma."

Tenmei smiled in return.

"So, when would you like for me to move back in?" asked Hani. "In a week or two?"

Tenmei placed her own teacup on the side table and stood, "Immediately, I'll arrange some movers to be by tomorrow to collect your ..." she looked around and took a quick note of what would be safe to bring into her own house, "Things."

"Oh, tomorrow? So soon? Well, I suppose that would be alright ..." said Hani. She stopped as she realized the drawbacks of leaving her apartment under such a short notice, "I have a lease here - for another 9 months. I'll have to pay a large fee to break it early and I don't think my landlord would let me get off easy."

Tenmei gave her granddaughter a sweet grin, "You let me worry about him." She turned and walked towards the door, "Now, why don't you gather some things together and you can stay in the guestroom at the house."

Hani stood too, reeling slightly at how fast things were moving, "Alright, eh-if that's what you want, Grandma."

"Excellent," nodded Tenmei as she turned to leave. "I'll go speak with your landlord now." She stopped suddenly before exiting the apartment, "Oh, I almost forgot. You dropped this a while back," she said as she reached into her kimono sleeve and pulled out a white paper bag.

Hani's eyes grew larger as she looked quickly from the prescription bag, to the bag she had been carrying. It was still sitting on her table, bound shut, and there was no way it could have fallen out at any time. "Grandma!" she balked.

"I'm sorry, Hani, but you need to be more careful with your things," said Tenmei sweetly as she handed the bag to her. "Now, go get ready."

Mumbling various swear words under her breath, Hani snatched the proffered bag and huffed at the metal door as it closed behind her grandmother. She then walked over to her kitchen table and opened the plastic bag to take out her personal effects. It wasn't until the bag was empty that she realized the business card for the therapist was missing. She looked at the prescription bag, with its folded-over opening and cursed, "I swear, if that card is in there..." She took the paper bag and opened it slowly, hoping she was wrong. But much to her dread, tucked neatly away in the little white baggy lay the business card for Dr. Hiro Yamanaka. "DAMNIT!" growled Hani.

* * *

><p>Crouched solemnly on the branch of a stout tree, Gai rolled his shoulders under his large cloak as the rain poured over him. For the past four days, they'd been scouring over the countryside looking for any trace of the missing courier. After 48 hours, Gai sent word to Tsunade that they had been unsuccessfully and that the village would need to send a tracking team. They were only able to send one: Kurenai Yuuhi's team, with an Inuzuka, Hyuuga, and an Aburame. The team was eager and determined to find the courier, but the weather quickly turned, making the scent hard to track for the Inuzuka, and the insects of the Aburame's did not want to venture too far from the protection of their hive. That left them with the two Hyuuga cousins. But even with the byakugan, looking for the missing messenger in such a broad area was like trying to find a needle in a hayfield.<p>

The weather didn't help with Gai's mood either. Normally, he didn't mind the rain as long as he experienced it from a dry place. But being soaked to the core in cold rainwater, where his sandals squished when he walked and the waterlogged bodysuit and legwarmers clung to him uncomfortably and chafed his tender places; it did nothing but sour his mood further. It was partly due to his fire-based nature that made him adverse to being in the rain for too long, but the stormy weather made his body ache and his joints stiffen, and such things could be dangerous for him in his line of work.

"There you are," came a calm, feminine voice from his side. Gai turned to the red-eyed brunette who landed on the branch next to him. "I could barely see you sulking up here."

Gai turned to the woman, "I'm not sulking."

Kurenai chuckled softly as she shook some of the rain off her own cloak, "I have seen less brooding in oni statues on the rooftops of temples, Gai." When the only response she got back was a low grumble, she immediately changed the subject. "Hinata is currently on the move with Lee. Kiba and Shino have reported that they are still not turning up any scent." She shook her head, "I don't know, it's like this man just up and vanished."

"Tamaki village had five witnesses who reported seeing him a day before he went missing. Your team was able to pick up the scent from the inn he stayed at, but lost it shortly after leaving the village. He came out here, but somehow his scent has been lost or masked. Are there techniques that can fool an Inuzuka's nose?"

"I'm sure there is. And it's possible the courier, who was a special jounin that was trained in covering his tracks and moving covertly, has been able to hide himself from us."

Gai turned to give her a serious look, "Are you suggesting he defected?"

The woman held her hands up, "I'm only saying that it is possible. We've seen no signs of a struggle, no indication that he was ambushed, and no ninja village, rogue or otherwise, has made any claim to having captured or killed him." She sighed, "I don't know. But the Hokage-sama stated that if we don't find him by tomorrow, then we are to return home and she will send a hunting squad after him."

The muscles in Gai's jaw rolled as he considered the situation, "Did she state what he was expected to deliver?"

Kurenai shrugged, "Just that he was returning from an outpost in the Whirlpool Country."

"We have outposts all the way out there?" asked Gai a bit surprised.

"It would appear so - though I can't imagine what is out there that would require our attention."

Gai turned back to look out over the woods. He didn't pretend to know all the intricacies of war strategy, or the inner workings of Konoha and its intel system. But to have a base out in the middle of a sea next to some old ruins - he couldn't imagine what good that would do, nor what information a messenger from one of those outposts could possess to make him a target. Regardless, a comrade was missing and he wasn't about to write him off as a traitor so soon.

Gai's thoughts were immediately interrupted by the sound of Tenten's voice cutting through the sound of the rain-battered leaves, "GAI-SENSEI!" He didn't hesitate to spring from his perch and land on the ground in a dead sprint.

"Did they find something?" called Kurenai.

The ebon-haired jounin didn't reply. He could identify instantly the sound of distress in his student's voice, and he wasn't about to let questions or sore joints slow him down from getting to her side as fast as possible.

"GAI-SENSEI!" she called again.

Gai leapt from the ground to a nearby tree trunk and proceeded to use his chakra induced-feet to pinball from one branch to the next. "TENTEN!" he shouted as he spotted her a short distance away. At her side was Neji who was leaning on her and covering his eyes with one of his hands. "What happened?!" he said as he landed next to them. He quickly helped Neji sit on a nearby rock.

"Neji can't see!" said Tenten, her voice shaking with worry.

Gai frowned at the young Hyuuga and kneeled next to him. "Neji, let me see," he said as he took the boy's hand.

"I'm alright," said the genin who took his hand away and stared blankly through squinted eyes. "I think it's just eyestrain."

"Using the byakugan for four days, I'm not surprised," sighed Gai. "Can you see anything?"

"Yes, it's just ... very blurry." He winced as he pressed a hand to his temple, "And my head is killing me."

"Has this happened before?"

Neji sighed, "No, but I've heard of it happening to other Hyuugas."

"Gai-sensei? What should we do?" asked Tenten as she squatted next to her teacher.

As he thought about an answer to her question, Gai watched the boy in silence for a few moments. But he soon noticed a slight tremble in Neji's hands. And it was then it became clear - despite his outwardly calm demeanor, the boy was terrified.

"What happened?" asked Kurenai once she had finally caught up.

Gai stood up and turned to the jounin, "Neji has strained his eyes and needs to rest. Kurenai, would you please take him to the inn at the nearby village and ensure that he is taken care of?"

The woman looked from the boy, to Gai's serious expression. She had known the man since they were both small and had seen a myriad of silly looks the man had made in his lifetime. But the look he gave her in that moment was anything but silly and it struck a chord inside her. Gai's students meant the world to him and he was asking her to do a task that was very important to him. "Of course, Gai," she nodded. She walked to the boy's side and took his arm. "Let's get you some rest, Neji."

The boy didn't resist her motherly-tone and allowed her to lay his arm over her shoulder and wrap her own arm around his waist. "Thank you, Kurenai-sensei," he said softly. Before they left, Neji looked toward the larger of the two masses his eyes could make out, "I'm sorry, Gai-sensei."

Knowing the Hyuuga would spend the next few days beating himself up over this event, Gai was sure to speak with a kind voice, "An apology isn't necessary. You did your best and that's all I can ask for. Now get better - I need your eyes to watch over our team."

Neji grinned slightly and nodded before Kurenai took them both to the trees.

"I kept telling him to take a break," said Tenten who watched them go. "But he was being stubborn - it's not like I can make him drop the byakugan. Maybe if I knocked him out, but that just seemed a little excessive."

"You did good, Tenten," smiled Gai who placed a hand on her shoulder. "You were there for him when he needed you, and that's all we can ask of our teammates."

The girl looked up at him with worry in her eyes, "Is he going to be alright, Gai-sensei?"

He gave her shoulder a little squeeze, "I'm sure he will be. I think this eyestrain is the equivalent to twisting an ankle - he just needs to give it some time to recover."

Tenten sighed, "So what do we do next?"

Gai opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the sound of a dog's howl off in the distance, followed shortly by a second."

"That's Kiba and Akamaru!" said Tenten a bit surprised.

"They must have found something. Let's go!" called Gai as he ran in the direction of the sound.

It didn't take them long before they arrived at the base of a rocky gulch. Kurenai's students, Kiba and Shino were propped against the wall trying to push a boulder as tall as Gai out from against the rocky outcropping. "Argh, ya bastard, move!" grunted Kiba.

Shino adjusted his sunglasses as he turned to Gai and Tenten, "It is good that you are here. We do not have the strength required to move such a large rock." He pointed to the stone. "We caught scent of the missing messenger and believe there to be a clue under here."

"Damnit!" growled Kiba who ignored the whine that came from the knee-high Akamaru as he continued to try to move the stone.

"Step aside, Inuzuka," chuckled Gai. "Before you herniate something." He walked over to the boulder and placed one hand on its side. With the planting of his feet and a little twist of his hips, the large stone flipped easily to the side. The eyebrows on both of the boys raised slightly at the ease Gai exhibited to move such a large amount of weight.

"I loosened it up for you," snorted Kiba under his breath.

"Gai-sensei!" called Lee as he landed next to the rest of his team. "We came as quickly as we could!" On his back was the third member of Kurenai's team, Hinata, who was blushing wildly.

"L-Lee-san, you can put me down now. I'm sorry I-I wasn't fast enough."

Lee immediately squatted and released the girls legs, "Of course, Hinata-san!" Once she was off, he popped back up to his full height in an instant, "Was something found?"

"It would seem so," said Shino who was now on all fours, examining what appeared to be the corpse of a man.

"Ah geezus," grunted Kiba who turned away from the scene as his eyes focused on the sight. With the body now being aired, he had to cover his nose to protect his senses from the putrid assault. "I thought I smelt decay, but I didn't think it was that bad," he said while trying not to wretch.

"Gai-sensei," said Tenten softly in shock.

Realizing how grotesque the scene was, Gai immediately held his cloaked arms out to shield Lee, Hinata, and Tenten's eyes from viewing the body. But he was too late.

Hinata turned away and held a hand up to her mouth, "Oh, my goodness."

"Lee, take Hinata away from here before she gets sick-" he looked at the boy and noticed him staring wide-eyed at the back of Gai's arm, a greenish hue highlighting his skin.

"I'll take her," said Kiba who was more than willing to exit the zone of stench. He took her arm and led his stunned teammate away upstream. "Come on, Hinata. Let's get some fresh air."

Still holding out his arms, Gai watched them go. "Lee, go with them. Make sure they're alright." He noticed the boy on the brink of hyperventilating. "Lee-!" was all Gai was able to say before the boy turned away and wretched. Gai winced at the sound and turned to pat him on the back. "It's alright, Lee - get the lead out."

"I am .. I am sorry, Gai-sensei," coughed Lee.

"It's alright. I know you've never seen anything like this before. Go walk with Kiba and Hinata."

A weak "sorry" was all Lee was able to manage before wiping his eyes with the back of his bandaged hands and walking shakily down the route the other genin had taken.

The jounin turned to his other student, "Tenten, are you alright."

She stood there, staring at the body before her. "It's horrible, Gai-sensei," she said softly.

Admiring her resolve, Gai placed a hand on her shoulder, "Are you alright?"

She looked up at him as if being broken from a trance, "Oh, yes. It's ... it's repulsive, but I think I'm okay."

Gai patted her shoulder, "You can leave whenever you need to." He squatted next to the Aburame who seemed to have a morbid curiosity with the body. "You seem to be handling this pretty well, Shino."

Not taking his eyes from his examination, the boy adjusted his sunglasses and spoke plainly, "The Aburame are not the squeamish type, sensei."

"I suppose not," chuckled Gai. He looked over the remains of the body. It fit the description of their missing courier - black pants, chuunin vest, and red headband. But the remains had been so mangled from the falling rock that it was nearly impossible to get a positive ID on the man's face which was, unfortunately, covered in maggots that were rooting around in the nostrils, eye sockets and any other flesh that they had been able to bore into.

"I'm not a forensic specialist," frowned Gai. "But this man seems to have been dead for longer than five days."

"He has been dead for nine in a half days to be exact," said Shino flatly. When Gai gave him a questioning look, Shino pointed to a cluster of maggots. "These are approximately 12 hours away from hatching into adult flies. A fly's gestation period from start to finish is exactly 10 days."

"He was reported missing five day ago and you're saying he's been dead for almost twice that time? Are you certain of this?"

For the first time since the body was uncovered the boy turned away from it to look Gai in the eye, "Positive."

"Shit," said Gai breathlessly. "Do you see his bag anywhere? Something that may have carried his messages?"

Shino looked around the remains closely and noticed a small leather satchel that was mostly under the body. "This could be it," he said pointing it out.

Gai cringed, "Can we get it out?"

With a delicate hand, Shino reached in to test if the bag could be safely moved. It was in that instant that Tenten spotted the glint of something suspicious out of the corner of her eye. "DON'T TOUCH IT!" she shouted.

Gai had already grabbed the Aburame's arm before Tenten finished speaking. "What is it, Tenten?!"

She knelt down beside them and pointed, "Look - at trip wire!"

Gently, Gai and Shino pulled their hands away. "Well done, Tenten," he sighed in relief. "Do you think it's something you could disarm?"

She leaned down onto her hands and examined it from as many angles as she could manage, "I can disarm it, but not without disturbing the body."

"Then let's leave it for the cleanup team. They'll know what's safe to move on the body better than we would. I'm surprised it didn't trigger when I moved the boulder."

Tenten looked around the area closely. "It looks like it's only setup to trigger when the bag is moved."

"A trap indeed," sighed Gai. "Alright, let's send word to the Hokage-sama to let her know we've found the body."

"What should we do until they arrive?" asked Tenten as they stood.

"Until then, we guard him." He waved his hand over the area, "Or ... what's left of him at least."


End file.
